Unova
by pincel-violette
Summary: At 15 years old, Touko and her two childhood friends are given the opportunity to travel across Unova. However, it isn't as easy or fun as they'd expected. Touko struggles through her journey between what she wants and what she needs to do as the notorious Team Plasma take action and the mysterious N haunts her every step. What will she do? (about to go on HIATUS/DISCONTINUE)
1. Prologue

**_Hello! I'm pincel-violette and this is my first story! This is based on the games, like, entirely since I follow what I'm playing xD I've finished Pokemon Black, but because I decided to write this, I had to start again... and then came the disaster of my file being over-written by a dumbo. Well, anyway, I'm new to this and I'm not really good at writing, but I hope you enjoy it!_**

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In a faraway land, a celebration takes place. It is one of great importance, it is the coronation of a king. A castle, hidden within the mountains and the earth shines brightly on the occassion. On the highest floor of the castle lies the throne room, where all have gathered to celebrate the coronation. Men and women dressed in medieval outfits look around in respect as a man begins to make his way to the throne. The man is of significance to the people in the room, he is wearing a large cloak and all bow down to respect him. Six particular men, who are lined in front of the blue carpet, bow down to the man as he walks to the throne, a crown steadily held in his hands.

He holds the royal crown on a cushion, and the men he passes by acknowledge the event. The green-haired man looks steadily at the throne. He is a man in his early 30's, one red eye burning with determination. The other eye however, is covered by a white and red patch, seeming to conceal whatever secret that right eye held. The man walks up to the throne and raises his hand, speaks of the coronation, and everyone hail.

The six men have now turned their attention to the young man entering the throne room. They head towards him, and carry the long golden cloak which marks his importance. The young man has similar tea-green hair as the man holding the crown, however, their posture is much different. His head is down, as if buried into thoughts more complex than his coronation. Indeed though, he is, as he closes his blue-grey eyes and recalls a memory from his childhood.

In the memory, he is a five year old child, wearing plain yellow and brown clothes and a cube on his neck. He is in a forest, with his best companions, and the ones he cared for the most. Pokemon. A Darmanitan takes guard around him, as if protecting the boy of potential danger. Next to him is a Zorua, a shy one, who looks at him with care in his eyes. Above him fly two Woobats, who share the same happiness as the boy does. And it all comes to him, to the young man, as he opens his eyes and matches the determination the older man had shown before. Although the doubts had buried into his mind, he had one sole goal, and so his mind cleared and he was back in the throne room, making his way to the awaiting older man with the crown.

Two women, perhaps the only ones in the room who were not dressed in medieval suits, watch in seriousness as the older man places the crown on the young man's head. It was a moment they had all been waiting for, and the two had raised this boy for this very day. When the crown is placed on his head, he closes his eyes, stands up and takes a breath. He turns towards the awaiting crowd, and with no final thoughts, opens his eyes and raises his right arm in salute.

The older man next to him stares down at the younger boy as he shows the final step of his coronation. And everyone bows to their king. The coronation was over, and now a greater, and more important plan was making it's way to the distant land of Unova.

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**_By the way, I haven't completely edited any of the following chapters, so please bear with me :)_**


	2. A New Day

_**Here's the first chapter! So, when I first uploaded this, it was twice the size. That's 'cos I tend to write too much.. anyway, I cut it down to half, so I hope it's better!**_

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Early one summer morning, Pidoves fly as the quiet town of Nuvema wakes up. Nuvema Town was a quiet and peaceful place, where the forests reached the coast. There were but few houses, and one grand building where the town's Professor worked. And it was on this early day that the Professor made her way to a certain house, greeting her fellow neighbors as she passed by. The Professor knocks on the door, and is greeted by a young blue-eyed woman who smiles.

"Good morning Professor Juniper." She tells the Professor. She opens the door to allow the woman to walk in the house, and the Professor looks around.

"Is she out?" She asks the mother, and the woman nods and laughs.

"You know how she is, early morning walks around town. Especially on this special day." The mother explained. The Professor nodded, and when the mother saw the blue box the woman was holding, she smiled and led the Professor up the stairs.

"Her room is the one on the right, I'm sure she'll be here soon, so I suggest we leave the box there." Professor Juniper nodded in agreement, and left the box on the desk where the window faced the ocean. The Professor spoke to the mother for a few more minutes before deciding that it was time to leave. She would be seeing the young teenagers soon anyway, since it was a special day.

Soon, the door of the little house opened once more, and the mother turned to greet her daughter, who smiled back at her.

"Good morning honey. You came home early today from walking." She told her daughter. The girl kissed her mom on the cheek and winked, before hastily making her way up to her room. The mother chuckled, heading towards the door as a slow knocking began to hit it. She opened the door and smiled, as she greeted the young teenage boy whom she had known since he was born.

"Why good morning Cheren. This is an early surprise." She told the boy. The boy seemed slightly out of breath, however he fixed his posture and his glasses, and wore his ever serious face.

"Good morning Mrs. White. I was making my way towards your house when I met up with Professor Juniper." He said, and the mother traced a light excitement emerging in the boy's voice. The mother nodded, and Cheren made his way slowly to his best friend's room. When he entered the room, he found the girl already staring at a blue box by her table, wrapped with a green ribbon. He sudden felt excited, like his dreams were finally coming true as he made his way quickly to her side.

"Touko!" He said, and the girl turned around. Touko tilted her head and grinned at her childhood friend. For a minute, Cheren stared at her in surprise, as the girl simply smiled at him. He didn't ever forget though that Touko was one who didn't speak much unlike... and then his mind came back to what was happening.

"I heard from Professor Juniper. We can have a Pokemon?" He asked the girl, and Touko shook her head up and down. Cheren turned towards the box once more, and Touko did the same, the grin fading away as the two began to realise the whole reality of the event. In all the fifteen years of their lives, what Cheren and Touko had ever mostly wanted was to travel Unova. Fifteen years in Nuvema Town, and the farthest they had ever been was to Professor Juniper's lab, which was farther than any house in the little town. Cheren turned his head towards Touko again, only seeing her still staring intently at the box.

"I was on my way here when I bumped into Professor Juniper. She was going to Bianca's house, I believe, and she said that she'll be here soon." Touko tilted her head again.

"Who will be here soon?" The girl asked her friend, and Cheren chuckled.

"Bianca of course. We can't open this box without everyone in here, could we?" He stated. Touko smiled.

The two waited for their other best friend to come. Touko had made her way to sit by the chair close to her computer, as Cheren began to walk back and forth in frustration.

"What's keeping Bianca?" He asked out loud, with crossed arms. He stopped his walking and began to tap on the floor impatiently. Touko sighed and walked beside Cheren.

"She'll be here soon... I hope." Was all that she could say. Cheren sighed in defeat and they both turned towards the blue box again. Soon, they heard the door downstairs opening, and Touko's mum welcoming someone. The two looked at each other and grinned, knowing very well who was clumsily making her way up the stairs. The door burst open, and the two turned to look at their best friend, who seemed out of breath.

"Am I late again? So-oooo-orry!" She said, and the blonde stood by the door smiling weakly at her friends. Touko smiled back at Bianca, while Cheren walked closer to her and shook his head in disapproval.

"Bianca... I've known for fifteen years that you have no sense of time, but... seriously...," Bianca continued to smile at Cheren, even though she knew that the boy was going to lecture her on her lateness. But the lecture never came. "Today's the day we can get a Pokemon from Professor Juniper!" He simply said excitely, which took Bianca off guard. Nevertheless, she smiled, and joined her two friends.

"I know. Sorry, Touko. Sorry, Cheren." She apologised to her friend before a smile crept to her face once more. She hurried towards Touko and Touko smiled at her.

"So, where are the Pokemon?" Bianca asked in pure excitement. Touko pointed towards the table at the blue box, and Bianca turned. She remained silent for a few moments before turning to Touko again, feigning a serious face, which of course, Touko and Cheren knew more than well was just to conceal her enthousiasm.

"They were delivered to Touko's house, so Touko gets first pick." Bianca stated. Cheren rolled his eyes, and slowly made his way to the other vacant side next to Touko.

"Naturally." He told Bianca as-a-matter-of-factly. Bianca stuck out a tongue at him and Touko laughed.

"Mature, Bianca. Very mature." He said, before completely and seriously turning towards the box again. The two girls did the same exact motion as the boy.

"The Pokemon are waiting for us inside that gift box." He said, although it had mostly been a statement intended for himself, as if he was still trying to believe that this was reality, and that this was really happening. He made one last thought before smiling. "OK, Touko, you go first and take a peek at the gift box." He said. Touko smiled slyly at her best friend's seriousness.

"Oh? Why so very serious? It's just that you know... you shouldn't be so..." and the girl went on and on, one of those rare occasions when Touko actually spoke. Cheren knew that Touko was doing this just to get on his nerves, but it got the better of him and his patience broke.

"I want to meet the Pokemon right now!" He finally exclaimed. Touko and Bianca stared at each other, as if in victory, and Touko walked towards the table nervously. As she stopped right at the table and stared down at the box, she could hear her friends behind her.

"Ooh! What kind of Pokemon could they be?" Bianca wondered out loud. Without turning, Touko knew that Cheren had probably rolled his eyes. Cheren knew almost everything, if not really everything, about Pokemon and battling in Unova. It was his dream after all to defeat the Champion.

"Would you get a move on and open the gift box already? I'm sure the Pokemon are just as excited to meet us!" He said, and Touko finally made the move and untied the green ribbon. On the gift box was a short paper mail, a blue border with yellow drawings. Touko took the card, opened it, and read it out loud.

"_I've brought three Pokemon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely! Enjoy your Pokemon! -Professor Juniper._" When she finished reading it, she opened the lid of the blue box and found three marvelous red Poke Balls inside, sitting comfortly on a red cushion.

"Which one will you take Touko?" Bianca asked her. Touko took a step back, and tilted her head for a bit. Her two friends joined her by her side.

"I'm not sure what type I like. Fire... water... or grass?" She asked herself. Before Cheren could speak, she turned her eyes to him, as if warning him not to begin a lecture.

"Fire, water, and grass types?" Bianca pondered. Cheren nodded. "Well, how about we let them all out and then we'll decide?" She suggested. Touko and Cheren looked at each other, before finally agreeing. Touko took the three Poke Balls and called out the three Pokemon.

Before their eyes formed the small shapes of Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. Bianca almost immediately rushed towards the Oshawott and cuddled it with her arms. She turned towards Touko and Cheren who were staring at Snivy and Tepig, and let go of the Pokemon, a blush on her cheeks at her spontaneous action.

"So Touko? Which Pokemon will it be?" Cheren finally asked Touko once more. Touko stared at the three Pokemon who were eyeing them. Bianca had obviously taken a liking to Oshawott, so she decided against getting the Water-type Pokemon. She looked between the Snivy and the Tepig, wondering which she would take. Tepig seemed to be as cute as Oshawott, but much more buff looking. Snivy on the other hand, was an elegent Grass-type Pokemon, however, Touko couldn't help but notice the slight attitude the Pokemon seemed to have. So finally, being the type of person who liked challenges, Touko walked towards the Snivy, who looked at her back.

"I'll pick Snivy." She stated. The Snivy slightly tilted his head and looked away, confusing Touko. Not noticed by her two other friends, Bianca rushed towards the Oshawott she had cuddled before.

"OK, I'll take this Pokemon! Cheren, that one's yours!" She stated, embracing the Oshawott and pointing towards Tepig. Cheren rolled his eyes once more at Bianca's lack of information of the name of her Pokemon and made his way towards the Tepig.

"Hey, how come you get to pick out my Pokemon?" He said initially. But seeing the somewhat hurt look in Tepig's eyes, he quickly covered up for it. "Oh, never mind. I wanted Tepig from the start, anyway." He said, which in reality, was the truth, but his words had come out wrong. Tepig smiled at his new trainer and Cheren smiled back.

"Everyone has chosen a Pokemon! ... So that's that!" Bianca stated. The three childhood friends took positions across from one another in the room and began to eye and talk with their Pokemon. Suddenly, Bianca's head popped up.

"Hey, I know! Let's have a Pokemon battle!" She cried out in excitement. Touko and Cheren looked at each other, not understanding that Touko was wondering if it was right and Cheren was against it.

"Honestly, Bianca..." he began. "Even though they're still weak Pokemon, you shouldn't have Pokemon battles inside a house." He told her. Bianca shook her hands in front of him and looked at Oshawott.

"Don't be a worrywart! These little ones are weak, like you said. We have to let them battle so they'll get stronger." Although Cheren was against it, he couldn't help but agree with the fact that indeed, the Pokemon needed to battle in order to get stronger. He sighed in defeat, and Bianca's face lit up. "It's settled, Touko! Get ready for a Pokemon battle!" She said, and the two girls took opposing sides, their Pokemon standing firmly in front of them.

"You should get the first move." Bianca told Touko hesitantly. Touko nodded, and looked at her Snivy. He wasn't acting up, and seemed ready to fight, something that until today, was unknown to him.

"Alright Snivy! Use Leer!" Touko ordered. Snivy took a firm stature against the Oshawott and leered intently at the Pokemon. Oshawott backed down slightly, as if losing confidence. Bianca looked at Cheren for help.

"Oshawott's initial moves are Tackle and Tail Whip, Bianca." Cheren told her. Bianca nodded and thanked him before turning towards Touko and her Snivy once again.

"Alright Oshawott, use Tackle!" She ordered. Oshawott's fear vanished as he rushed towards Snivy in an incredible speed. Before Touko or Snivy could react to the attack, Snivy got hit head on by Oshawott and was pushed back towards the wall next to Touko's desk. Cheren began to wonder how much of a mess the battle the two girls were having could cause.

"Snivy, use Leer again!" And Snivy took his posture once more, the Oshawott slightly backing down. But Bianca remained strong towards the battle, a side in their friend that neither Touko nor Cheren had seen before. Bianca ordered Oshawott to use Tackle again, and Snivy was once again unable to react towards the attack and went crashing on the desk where the box had previously been.

"Snivy, use Tackle!" Touko ordered. Snivy slightly grinned before speeding towards Oshawott and hitting him hard by it's abdomen, sending the water-type Pokemon crashing on Touko's bed. Bianca hurried towards the Pokemon who began to pant and began to worry about the tiredness. Snivy was too beginning to grow tired of the constant Tackles, and Touko knew she had to end it soon.

"Eek! Ouch! I won't let you get away with that!" Bianca slowly muttered. Once Oshawott got back up, Bianca ordered him to use Tackle once more, making the Snivy weaker and more tired.

"Snivy, one final Tackle!" Touko called, and the Snivy used up what energy had left and attacked the weak Oshawott, causing him to faint. Bianca rushed towards her new Pokemon and picked him up. Touko also rushed towards her Snivy, who nodded to her as if telling her that it was alright. When she looked at Bianca, she was glad to see that Oshawott had opened its eyes and was not harmed very badly. Bianca walked towards Touko and grinned.

"The Pokemon on both sides did their best!" Bianca said happily. Touko nodded, and grinned at her Snivy. Snivy smiled at his new trainer back, filled with confidence, even though he was exhausted after his first battle.

"Wow... Touko, you're gonna be an awesome Trainer someday, I can tell! No doubt!" She said, and Touko smiled as they began to talk about their match. Cheren, who was in the middle of it all, and had successfully evaded the careless attacks the two small Pokemon were making, stared down at his Tepig. Tepig looked up at him in confusion.

"Uh... Bianca, would you take a look around?" He finally managed to say, catching the two girls' attentions. Bianca turned towards him, and then looked around, her eyes widening in horror. The room was no longer what it used to be ten minutes ago. The plant by the door was smashed down, the desk was practically collided with the computer desk, and the bookshelf was no longer in the same neat way as it was before.

"Wh-whoa! What happened?" She asked in disbelief. Cheren wanted to tell her 'I-told-you-so' but Bianca had turned her attention towards the shocked Touko once more in excitement. "Wow! Pokemon are amaaaaazing! So little, but so strong! I'm so glad that I get to have a Pokemon!" But as she realised the expression on Touko's face, she smiled at her friend weakly. "... Oh. Um, sorry about your room, Touko." She muttered. Touko was though, too surprised for her own good, at the mess that was now her room. Cheren shook his head and walked in between the two friends, turning towards Bianca.

"You... are completely hopeless." Bianca began to say something back, but he put a finger up. "Here! I'll restore your Pokemon for you." He stated, pulling out a Revive from his pocket.

"Wow, where did you get that Cheren?" Bianca asked the boy in surprise, as the Oshawott began to regain full consciousness and stared at her happily.

"My father travels to the other cities often you know. And I ask him to get these for me, so I know what they are like." He explained. Then, he turned towards Touko and her tired Snivy. "Touko's Pokemon needs to be fixed up, too." He stated, and bent down to spray a Potion on the Snivy, who happily accepted the treatment. Touko smiled and bent to pet her Pokemon.

"Feeling better boy?" She asked her Pokemon, and the Snivy nodded his head once. Touko rose her head to Cheren, who smiled back at her. Suddenly, Bianca began to clap her hands and then walked to where Cheren had previously been standing during their battle.

"Hey, Cheren! How about you battle, too? With all you know, I'm sure you can battle without turning the room into a disaster area like I did!" She said quickly. Cheren took one unsure look at the Tepig who was sitting by his side, before grinning at Touko. Touko though, looked back at him, surprised that her friend would actually take up on the offer. Cheren stood up and fixed his glasses again.

"I believe you're right! It'll be no problem for me to keep the room from getting any messier." He said rather confidently. Touko smirked.

"You're confident." She stated, making Cheren slightly flush. He built up his posture fast though, and turned towards his Tepig.

"Besides, it's not fair if you two are the only ones who get to have fun battling! It's decided. You'll be my opponent... in our first Pokemon battle! Let's see what you can do Tepig!" He told her back, completely surprising Touko with his final choice to battle her. But Snivy had been healed, and more than ready to fight again.

"If that's what you want, then I won't say no!" Touko said, and smiled at Snivy. Cheren took his position and Tepig stood in front of him confidently.

"Alright Snivy, let's begin this battle with Tackle!" The Snivy picked up an immense speed and tackled the Tepig, sending it back towards the ruined wall by the bed. Cheren slightly gritted his teeth.

"Tepig, it's Fire type versus Grass type! Use Tackle as well!" He said, hoping that perhaps the type disadvantage would make the Tackle much stronger. But the attack had only managed to push the Snivy back towards the desk once more. Cheren smiled. "I've finally become a Trainer... everything starts from here! That's why, give it your best shot Touko!" He told her. Touko grinned.

"Snivy, use Leer at Tepig before he gets back!" She ordered. Snivy leered at Tepig, who seemed for a moment's worth, to be afraid. Tepig rushed to Cheren's side.

"Don't worry Tepig! Use Tail Whip!" He ordered, and Tepig ran towards Snivy, whipping the Pokemon in the process with it's tail. Snivy tried to use its arms to protect itself, but it was obvious to both trainer and Pokemon that it was an inevitable attack.

"Snivy, use Tackle!" And in the same speed as before, Snivy pushed itself towards the Tepig, which sent the Pokemon tumbling back. Cheren simultaneously ordered Tepig to use Tackle as well, and Snivy was unable to escape it. Soon, the two Pokemon were staring at each other, beginning to pant as the length of the battle began to get the better of them.

"Snivy, Leer!" And Snivy fixed his posture once more, leering at Tepig in confidence. But that didn't let neither Cheren or Tepig affect them, as Cheren ordered him to use Tail Whip once again. Soon, it was obvious to both trainers that bruises had began to show on both Pokemon from the many hits that they were sending to each other.

"One final attack Snivy, and I'm sure we'll end this! Tackle!" Snivy took a slight deep breath before rushing with all his energy towards Tepig. The collision sent Tepig flying back towards his own trainer, and Cheren held the Pokemon astounded as Tepig fainted, and let the exhaustion take over.

"Ah, so that's a Pokemon battle!" Touko heard Cheren telling himself. She rose her head and walked towards her friend, Bianca joining them as well. "I made a strange blunder in my first battle, but this feeling I have... I'm finally a Trainer." He said, eventually convincing himself that his words were true. "But first, we'd better go apologise to your mother about this messed-up room." He said weakly, and Bianca giggled. Cheren began to make his way towards the doorway, Tepig still safe in his arms.

"Oh! I'd better come, too!" Bianca said, and rushed behind Cheren, down the stairs. Touko was left alone in her room, laughing at herself at the huge mess that they had made in her room. She smiled as she bent down to stare at her new Pokemon. Snivy, though exhausted after his first two battles, stared back at his new Trainer proudly.

"We'll be a great team, you and I." Touko whispered. She carefully took the small Pokemon into the safeness of her arms, and walked out of the room. When she walked down the stairs, she heard her two best friends' voices speaking to her mum, who in turn seemed to be laughing.

"I'm very sorry about all the trouble, ma'am." She heard Cheren say.

"Well, um... We can clean up..." Bianca nervously said. Touko finally reached the landing and saw her mum smiling at the two teenagers before her.

"Cleaning up? No worries. I'll take care of it later. Shouldn't you be on your way to meet Professor Juniper?" Both Bianca and Cheren's faces lit up, and Touko heard Cheren's usual serious tone get excited.

"Yes, thank you! Please excuse us." He turned towards Bianca. "Come on. Let's go thank Professor Juniper." Bianca nodded, and slowly made her way towards the door. This time, Cheren turned towards Touko who was still standing by the stairs. "I'll be waiting in front of the Pokemon Research Lab." He told Touko. Touko nodded. At the door, Bianca hastily turned around to her two best friends.

"Oh! Wait! I've gotta go home first!" She told them, only having Touko and Cheren stare back at her.

"Well, I suppose it's only appropriate. How about we all go home, pack a few things, and then meet up outside?" Cheren suggested. Touko simply nodded in understanding, and soon her two best friends were out of the door.

"Thank you for having us over!" Bianca called out before both she and Cheren ran quickly to their respective houses. Once the door was closed once again, Touko's mother turned to her and Touko grinned. She took a seat by the living room desk and her mum sat next to her.

"My, my, Touko. Pokemon battles are so lively, aren't they? I could hear the Pokemon's cries clear down here!" She said teasingly. Touko blushed.

"Yeah about that..." Touko began, but her mother interrupted her.

"It's alright honey. Hm. That sure reminded me of my first Pokemon battle! Oh, and you know? After a battle, you need to rest your Pokemon!" And so Touko's mother excitedly held the Snivy and offered him some Pokemon food. Touko watched in admiration.

"I'll go upstairs and change my clothes... and pack." She said, and her mother nodded. Touko ran up the stairs in her messy room, looking for clothes that she could wear. Soon, she found the only outfit left untouched in her closet. It consisted of really short jean shorts, a white shirt, and a black vest. Once she put them on, Touko looked at herself in the mirror and wondered how she'd fix her hair. Her brown hair was long, and rather puffy, so she decided against braiding them. Instead, she wore her pink League hat, her brown hair tied behind her, and two long strands falling just by her cheeks. She looked around her room for her bag, and soon found the simple pink bag which she could use for her travels. She prepared the rest of her things, like clothes, accessories and others, packing them in a pink sack. Finally, she deemed that she was ready for her new adventure, and with the pink sack on her shoulders, she walked down the stairs. There, she found her mother fondly playing with her Snivy.

"Your Pokemon is looking great!" She said, and Snivy hurried towards his Trainer. "Now, if you're going out, don't forget your 'cross-transceiver'!" Her mother said, and happily handed Touko a pink and black Xtransceiver, the device that was the number one source of communication in all of Unova.

"You got me a Xtransceiver? Thank you so much mum!" Touko said, and hugged her mother excitedly. She put the Xtransceiver in the front pocket of her side bag instead of her arm, fearing that she might lose it.

"You're going to thank the professor too, right? Better get going, honey!" Touko grinned, told her mother goodbye, and walked out of the house.


	3. Journey

_**I don't really have much to say, but a fair warning. I'm essentially bad at dealing time, so throughout the story, days and hours may seem too long or too short according to what they're doing.. well, that's 'cos I've no idea how long it would last xD Anyway!**_

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Outside the Pidoves flew, and the sun shone bright in the sky. Touko made her way happily to the Lab, carrying her things, and Snivy following closely behind her. She greeted her neighbors before finally arriving to the red-roofed building with the sign "Juniper Pokemon Lab". She found Cheren there, with a black and blue backpack on his shoulders. He was wearing the same outfit from the morning; black pants, blue shoes, a white shirt with a red tie and a blue jacket. Cheren noticed her and grinned. Tepig was standing next to his Trainer, and Snivy went to greet his friend.

"I'm sorry, but could you go to Bianca's house? I'll bet she's spacing out like she usually does. She's totally flighty." Cheren told Touko. Touko sighed, left her things by Cheren, and made her way towards Bianca's house with Snivy.

Touko found the door to Bianca's house slightly open, and knocked. When no one answered, she cautiously opened the door and found Bianca standing in front of her father, her mother staring from the kitchen.

"No, no, a thousand times no!" Bianca's father's voice boomed. Bianca seemed to flinch slightly. Touko noticed that Bianca had changed as well. She was wearing a creamy-white dress, leggings, orangy-yellow shoes, and an orange vest on her dress. She was also wearing a puffy green hat on her blonde hair, while a green side bag hung from her shoulder.

"But, I'm...I'm a good Trainer who got a Pokemon and everything! I can totally go on an adventure!" Bianca defended. With her final outburst, she turned to head towards the door, only noticing Touko's presence in the room and slightly bowing her head, as if in apology.

"Bianca..." Touko began, but Bianca just laughed nervously.

"Oh... it's OK... it's fine! I'll be waiting for you in front of the lab, OK?" Bianca said, and without waiting for Touko to say anything else, walked out the door. Touko turned towards Bianca's parents.

"Mr. Bel, surely you will allow Bianca to go on an adventure with us. It is finally, the time for it." Touko told the man. But the man didn't seem to have calmed down from his previous manner and glared at the girl.

"What nonsense is this? How could my daughter, who knows nothing about the world, be going on a journey with Pokemon?" This comment however, infuriated Touko and she took a step forward closer to the man. It was during these kinds of occasions when Touko wanted to defend something or someone, that she was able to speak back.

"But Mr. Bel! How will Bianca ever know anything of this world if she doesn't travel?" Bianca's father seemed to get even angrier, and so the mother stepped in.

"Don't mind my husband, dear. He's just being overprotective. All children go on adventures with Pokemon. It's part of growing up." She said, and Touko calmed down and nodded. She took one last look at the man before walking out the door.

Touko made her way slowly towards the Lab, her anger being slowly replaced by sadness. It would have been a real pity if Bianca could not join them in their journey. As if sensing his Trainer's sadness, Snivy jumped on Touko's shoulder and grinned. Touko laughed. As she approached the Lab, she found Bianca standing with a smile next to Cheren.

"Bianca..." Touko began. But Bianca merely turned around and hugged her.

"... That's a secret, OK?" She whispered in Touko's ear. Touko saw the smile on her best friend's face, and decided to put her anger and sadness aside. She nodded. The two girls giggled before turning to their impatient friend.

"OK! Let's go meet the Professor!" Cheren said, and he opened the door to the lab. They all walked in. None of them had ever been inside the lab before, so when they entered they were all more than fascinated at the machinery and the several pictures of Pokemon. They found the Professor at the back of the room next to a few machines, and when they greeted her, she turned and smiled.

"Hi there! I've been waiting for you young people. Let me introduce myself again. My name is..." but before she could continue, Cheren interrupted.

"Professor Juniper? We know your name." Cheren said, as if it was an obvious matter.

"Come, come, Cheren! This is not a time to take things lightly. Today is a day to remember always, so it's best to behave with some formality." Cheren nodded, and the Professor went on. "That being so, once again, my name is Professor Juniper, and I am researching when and how the creatures called Pokemon came into existence." She explained. Suddenly, Professor Juniper noticed the three Pokemon standing, or in Bianca's case, being held, by the three new Trainers, and her eyes widened.

"Is something the matter Professor?" Bianca asked in worry. Professor Juniper looked at the blonde in the eyes and shook her head.

"Oh, nothing at all! How have you found your Pokemon to be?" She asked the trio. Bianca grinned at her Oshawott and began to jump up and down.

"We've battled!" She told the Professor, which clearly took her off guard.

"Oh, that's unusual! You've already had a Pokemon battle! So maybe that's why... It feels as though your Pokemon have already begun to trust you!" She told them, which made Bianca even happier. Touko smiled, and when she turned to face Cheren, she unsurprisingly found that he had already known this fact.

"By the way, would you like to give your Pokemon a nickname?" Professor Juniper suddenly asked. Both Touko and Bianca's eyes turned towards her in curiousity.

"We can name them?" Bianca asked her, and the Professor nodded.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Then Oshawott, I'll call you... Aqueous!" Bianca declared, having the little Oshawott look at his trainer in wonder. Cheren and Touko looked at their friend.

"Bianca... why 'Aqueous'?" Touko dared to ask. Cheren almost slapped himself as Bianca began to explain.

"Well, Oshawott is clearly a Water-type, so I wanted a name related to his type. Obviously, I can't call him 'Water'... and 'Hydro' just doesn't fit. Simple 'Aqua' is very girly, so 'Aqueous' is a perfect name for him!" Bianca explained. Touko giggled. "And you Cheren? What are you going to call your Pokemon?" All eyes turned to Cheren, who looked at his Tepig.

Cheren began to wonder whether it would be right to nickname his Pokemon, or simply call the Pokemon by it's name. Already, a number of nicknames were coming to his head, but many were more than embarrassing for the young man. Before he could say anything though, Touko interrupted him.

"Well, I've decided on what I'll call Snivy. Snivy's going to be called Rior." Touko said. She looked at her Snivy, who seemed to understand better than Oshawott that he was being named.

"Why 'Rior'?" Cheren asked the brunette. Touko grinned at Cheren as if he was missing out on something.

"Why, because Snivy's final evolution is Serperior. So... Ser-pe-RIOR. See?" She said, and her grin grew even wider as she saw the surprised look on Cheren's face.

"Whatever. I have decided that I will call Tepig 'Blaze'." He said. Bianca smiled.

"Oh! Because he's a Fire type right?" She said, happy that she was finally understanding something so quickly. But Cheren shook his head.

"Because it's his ability." Seeing Bianca's confused face, Cheren rolled his eyes. "I'll explain it to you later." He said, and they all turned towards the Professor who was smiling broadly.

"So Aqueous, Rior, and Blaze. Those are great names!" She said, and then suddenly her face became serious again. "As for why I gave all of you Pokemon..." but once again, she was interrupted by Cheren.

"It's for the Pokedex, right?" He stated. Bianca looked in between the Professor and Cheren in confusion.

"Pokedex?" She asked Cheren. Professor Juniper though seemed unfazed by Cheren's interruption.

"I am astonished. Nice work, Cheren! You have already studied Pokemon extensively, haven't you?" Cheren nodded. "Still, let me explain everything from the beginning, for everyone's sake." She said, and all eyes turned to Bianca, who in turn blushed. Professor Juniper turned her back and walked towards her desk.

"The Pokedex is a high-tech device that automatically records the Pokemon you encounter! So, I want you three to visit many places and meet all of the Pokemon in the Unova region! This is my request. Touko! Cheren! Bianca! You'll go on an adventure to complete the Pokedex, will you not?" She asked the trio. Touko, Cheren, and Bianca looked at each other before a grin took place on their faces. They turned to the Professor once more and nodded.

"OK! I mean... Yes, professor!" Bianca shouted.

"Thank you very much. Because of you, I can become a Pokemon Trainer, exactly as I've always wished." Cheren said, and Touko smiled as she sensed the tone of gratefulness in the boy's voice.

"All of you, thanks! You have given me the best possible answer!" And with that, she took three devices from her desk and handed one to each of the three teenagers. Touko received one that matched the colours of her Xtransceiver and smiled. Once they all finished examining the Pokedex, they all looked at Professor Juniper once more.

"Next, I need to teach you how to meet Pokemon. Please meet me at Route 1, OK?" She said, and made her way out the door, leaving the trio standing. They all stood, watching the door before Bianca finally turned towards her friends.

"S-since the professor asked us, it's OK to go on an adventure, right? I can explore and maybe find out what I want to do in life. I think I'd like that." Bianca silently said.

"Of course. We can travel however we want while we complete the Pokedex." Cheren told his friend with a smile. Bianca, seeming encouraged by Cheren's words hugged him.

"For some reason, my heart is pounding, Touko." Bianca said, turning towards Touko again. "What are you and Rior going to do?" She asked her friend. In all honesty though, Touko had no idea what she was going to do.

"Travel... I suppose. Meet new people. I'll see where my journey leads me." Touko said. Bianca and Touko turned to Cheren.

"Finally, I can become a Pokemon trainer. I'll have real battles with other Trainers and get stronger. Wait and see!" He said, and the trio laughed. Together, they walked out of the lab into the town again. Touko stopped by the door as she saw her mum grinning.

"Come on! Touko, wait up!" Bianca cried, bumping into Touko. Cheren walked out too, and the two teenagers turned to see Touko's mum.

"Oh, there you are! And...? What did the professor have to say?" Touko's mother asked them impatiently. Before Touko or Cheren could explain, Bianca hurried into the details of the mission that the professor had set them to do. Touko's mum looked at the trio in excitement.

"She asked you to complete the Pokedex? I can't believe it!" She said, blushing after. "Well, actually, I can. I already knew she was going to ask." She laughed. She walked towards the trio and handed each and one of them something. "That's why I brought you three of these Town Maps. Take them with you!" She said, and the three gladly took them and put them in their bags.

"I'll take good care of it." Cheren told the mother, which made her laugh. Bianca stuttered as she thanked the woman for her kind offer. When the three of them finally got the maps, Touko's mother stepped back to look at them.

"As for your room, Touko - or what's left of it..." Touko and Bianca blushed. "No need for any of you to worry. I'll take care of tidying up. OK, Touko?" Touko and Bianca looked at each other, before nodding happily to the woman. Touko's mother sighed.

"Ah, Pokemon. They are so cute, but they have enough power to destroy a bedroom! They are really something. With Pokemon like that at your side, you'll be safe wherever you go! I'll let your parents know! I hope that, in addition to Pokemon, you'll find lots and lots of places you like in the Unova region - and become wonderful adults!" She said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Oh mum, please! You're embarrassing me!" Touko said jokingly, and her mother hugged her.

"Have a great trip!" She said, and left the trio. Touko and Bianca turned towards Cheren.

"If I use the Town Map, I'll always know where I am... That's certainly helpful. Shall we head to Route 1? The professor's waiting." Cheren suggested.

"Let's go, let's go! Touko, hurry and come too, OK?" Bianca said with a smile. Cheren took his backpack once more and began to walk towards the outskirts of town. Bianca followed behind him, with a small green sack Touko had not noticed before, and their two Pokemon following behind them. Touko smiled before looking around at her small hometown one last time. She tilted her head to Rior, who was on her shoulder and walked towards the direction where her other two best friends had gone off to in a hurry.

"Touko... It's this way!" Bianca said, and Touko joined the pair. She wondered curiously why the two were standing on the invisible line between the town and Route 1.

"Bianca says if we're starting a journey together, she wants us all to take our first step at the same time." Cheren explained to her. Bianca hopped towards Touko's side.

"Hey, Touko! Let's all take our first step on Route 1 together!" Bianca said happily, and Touko giggled.

"OK, here we go!" Cheren said, and the two girls stood next to him, all three holding hands.

"One, two!" And as they all shouted three, they took three steps forwards into their new adventure. Once they were finally in sight of the forest, they let go of their hands and Bianca turned towards her friends in excitement.

"Oh! I wonder what will happen! Isn't this so exciting?" She said happily. For a second, Touko remembered what had happened with Bianca's father, but before she could ask, Cheren turned to face the road ahead.

"It sure is! C'mon, the professor's waiting." He said, and pointed towards the professor's figure. They all walked together towards her, and she smiled upon seeing them again. "Professor Juniper, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Cheren apologised.

"Now that everyone's here, I'll explain. The Pokedex's pages update automatically whenever you meet a Pokemon! Moreover, it's set up so that you obtain even more information when you catch a Pokemon! To make this clear, I'm going to demonstrate how to catch a Pokemon!" She said, and she told the teenagers to follow her, deeper into the route. Soon, they found the Professor calling out her Minccino against a furious Patrat. The Professor battled the Patrat and soon, she got a Poke Ball from her pocket and threw it at the weakened Patrat. When the ball stopped shaking, she picked it up and turned towards the highly fascinated trio again.

"Did you see that, just now? Here's how it goes, step by step. First, reduce the Pokemon's HP! Pokemon that still have all of their energy are difficult to catch. If you can, use your Pokemon's moves to make the Pokemon you want to catch fall asleep. Or paralyse it! And to wrap this up in the best way, I have a gift for you - some Poke Balls!" She said, and handed each of the trio five new Poke Balls. "Poke Balls are used for catching Pokemon and for carrying the Pokemon you catch! I'm going on ahead. I'll be waiting for you in Accumula Town!" And the Professor said goodbye to the trio and walked away. Cheren chuckled.

"She forgot to say that Pokemon jump out at you in the tall grass or forest or when you bother it and it gets mad." Cheren muttered. He turned towards his friends and grinned.

"I'm heading to Accumula Town, too." He told them. Bianca nodded.

"I think I'll go, too. I'm looking forward to the next town so I can go shopping for Poke Balls!" She said in excitement. Touko though, was shocked at the way her friends were suggesting they travel. She had been expecting them to travel together, not separately, so what they had said had surprised her.

"Wait a minute!" Bianca said, and Touko's hopes lit up. "Hey, listen! Touko, Cheren, I thought of something fun!" She said, jumping up and down. Touko's eyes were still glinting in hopes that her blonde friend would suggest they travel together.

"But we need to get going! I'd imagine the professor's waiting, too." Cheren whined.

"Would you just listen a sec? Seriously! Why don't we see who can catch the most Pokemon? The person carrying the most Pokemon, including the one received from Professor Juniper, is the winner!" Bianca suggested, and Touko's hopes came shattering down. She looked at Cheren, as if hoping that he would disagree.

"Huh. Actually, that sounds interesting." And it was like another glass shattered in Touko. "It will fill up Pokedex pages, so I'm sure it will please the professor, too. OK, then. Until we reach Accumula Town, take care of healing your Pokemon at your own house." He said in determination. Touko watched as the mention of 'house' made Bianca flinch.

"Me and Aqueous will do the best for sure!" Bianca said, and as if in a race, both she and Cheren ran towards the road, backpacks and Pokemon with them, leaving Touko all by herself. She took hold of Rior and put him down, Rior now seeing the angry expression on his trainer's face. She began to walk with her sack, and Rior followed behind.

"Going on an adventure... then splitting ways... and suggesting we go back home just to heal our Pokemon!" She mumbled under her breath. "Stupid!" She kicked a rock. "Stupid!" She kicked at the grass. "STUPID GAME!" She said, and stumbled down. Rior quickly went to her side, and as Touko turned, she found herself facing a rather angry Lillipup.

"Rior, use Tackle!" She ordered, and Rior hit the small Pokemon. But the Lillipup didn't seem to have been greatly affected, and instead, leered at Rior proudly.

"Use Tackle again!" Touko cried, and when the Lillipup got back up, it seemed to pant. For a split second, Touko wanted to stop the battle and run away, but then the Lillipup leered at Rior again. Touko gritted her teeth.

"This Pokemon is starting to get on my nerves. And I'm angry already as it is. Come on Rior, use one final Tackle and we're out'ta here!" She said. Rior used his speed to rush towards the Lillipup, hitting the small Pokemon effectively, and sending it unconscious in the woods. Touko exhaled angrily and began to walk down the rode once more, Rior following behind.

After what seemed to be hours, Touko finally found herself close to a river. She took the stairway that led to the place and dropped all her packs and lie down. Rior, not knowing what his trainer was doing, jumped on her stomach and looked at her.

"Rior... please get off me. I'm really, really tired." She whispered, and Rior did so. Touko decided to close her eyes and rest her aching shoulders for a bit before continuing her journey.

"Are you alright?" Touko opened her eyes to see a woman standing right above her. She sat up and found that the woman was wearing a kind of uniform.

"Oh, yes, yes of course! I was... just... just... resting." Touko managed to say. Touko wasn't good at speaking with other people apart from those she knew very well, so many times she'd simply stay quiet. Touko stood up and looked around her. The woman smiled at her.

"Is your Pokemon's HP all right? When your Pokemon's HP decreases while you're on the road, it can be a big problem, so I'll give you this." And she handed Touko a Potion. "When your Pokemon's HP decreases, they no longer have the energy to fight. So, don't push your Pokemon too hard, and let them rest often." The woman said. Touko thanked her and the woman left, smiling at Rior. Deciding that she had already wasted enough time resting, Touko took her sack and her side bag again and began to walk down the path once more.

It wasn't long after though that Touko came across a Patrat. Having already dismissed the game - she had thought about it, and she barely cared whether she'd win or not - she yawned and ordered Rior to use Tackle on the Pokemon.

The battle continued, and Rior tackled three times before managing to make the Patrat faint. Rior, on the other hand, had been hit by the Patrat's tackle only once, but was healthy enough to go on with the journey.

"What the... argh! Rior, use Tackle!" Touko ordered, as another angry Patrat attacked Rior. After five minutes, Rior was exhausted from the battles coming one after another, yet he stood strong. By the time Rior managed to tackle the Patrat four times before fainting, Rior was on the verge of fainting.

When Touko was almost about to give up on the road, she saw that the route was heading straight into a city, and she found Cheren and Bianca waiting for her there. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her panting, before approaching Cheren. Cheren smirked.

"Look who's an hour late." Cheren said smugly. Touko stuck out a tongue. He chuckled. "Touko, are you going to compare yourself with Bianca? Both Bianca and I have two Pokemon with us." He said, and Touko suddenly remembered the game. She smiled wearily, and hesitantly took a step forward towards Bianca.

"How about it, Touko? Do you want to compare which one of us has the most Pokemon with them?" Touko simply nodded in defeat, already knowing the results of their 'little game'. She watched as both Bianca and Cheren flashed their new Pokemon in their Poke Balls before her, and waited for her to show hers. She just shrugged, and turned to look at Rior.

"What? What? What? You only have Rior? If you don't catch any Pokemon, won't Rior get lonely?" Touko's eyes suddenly shot up at the comment, and she looked at Rior. She wondered whether it could be true, and that the past hours that Rior was with her was extreme loneliness on behalf of the Pokemon.

"Incidentally, if you check your Pokedex, you'll see how many Pokemon you've found and how many you've caught." He said smartly. Touko glared at him. "I'm off to Accumula Town! The professor is waiting." He said. But before Touko or Cheren could say or do anything else, their Xtransceivers began to ring and they answered it.

"_Hello! How is everybody doing? You and your Pokemon are getting along great now, right?"_ The professor's voice asked. Bianca jumped up and down.

"Oh! Professor!" She said, as she recognised the professor's voice a tad too late.

"_Right now, I'm in front of Accumula Town's Pokemon Center! I'd like to show you around, so hurry on over, everyone!"_ The professor said. Touko looked at Bianca to see she was nodding.

"OK! The Pokemon Center, right!" She answered the professor.

"_Ok! See you!_" The professor said before hanging up. They all put away their Xtransceivers.

"Well, I'm going on ahead." Cheren stated, and Bianca nodded, following him behind. Touko watched as the figures of her two best friends began to walk away. For an instant, she felt angry again with the fact that they had gone separate ways, but quickly washed the feelings away.

"Wait for me!" She said, and the two teenagers giggled. The three of them found the large building with the red roof easily, as Accumula Town didn't seem to be much bigger than how Nuvema had been. And standing by the door was none other than Professor Juniper.


	4. Uprising

_**Bianca's Oshawott's name took me a while to make up. I actually wanted to make it seem smart and all, but not too smart because... well, it's Bianca xD Cheren's gotta be the man. Supposedly.**_

* * *

"Ah, Touko! Cheren! Bianca! There you are! Traveling with your Pokemon is truly one of the joys of being a Trainer! Please follow me. I'l like to show you the most important place for a Trainer to know!" She said, and the trio followed the professor as they entered the grand Center. "This is a Pokemon Center! Don't you feel better as soon as you step through the door? OK, let's start your tour!" And she guided them to the largest desk in the front of the room.

"Ooh, wait for me!" Bianca cried out, as she struggled to keep up with the group.

"A Pokemon Center is a truly incredible place!" Professor Juniper continued. "Do you know why? Because your Pokemon can be healed! And, what's more, it's absolutely free! A Pokemon Center is a Trainer's best friend! Here, Touko, give it a try." She said. Touko looked in between the professor, her two friends, and the smiling lady at the counter before placing Rior on the desk.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokemon Center! We restore your tired Pokemon to full health. Would you like to rest your Pokemon?" The nurse asked, and Touko nodded. "Please recall your Pokemon into his Poke Ball." The nurse told her, and Touko did as she was told. The nurse took the Poke Ball and placed it into a large machine. Bianca and Cheren did the same thing with their two Poke Balls, and soon, the three teenagers looked in wonder at how the machine worked.

The nurse put the five Poke Balls on the machine, and then turned it on. The machine glowed for a few minutes. "Your Pokemon have not been terribly injured, so the healing process is very quick. You may continue your tour and come back for your Pokemon right in a few minutes." She said, and the trio nodded in confirmation.

"OK. Now that your Pokemon are resting, I'll show you how to use the PC at a Pokemon Center." The teenagers followed her as she approached a modern PC by the desk. "This is the PC. It's free for any Trainer to use. You can store Pokemon in your PC Boxes or select Pokemon stored in your PC Boxes to take along with you. In addition, if you catch a new Pokemon wile you have six Pokemon traveling with you, the Pokemon you just caught is sent automatically to the PC network! Surprising, isn't it? Amazing, even. Here's something else that's cool. If you select my PC, I'll evaluate the progress you've made on your Pokedex!" She explained, all the while showing which parts of the PC she meant on the screen.

"Professor... It says "Someone's PC" on the screen. Who is 'Someone'?" Bianca asked curiously. The professor chuckled.

"Very good, Bianca. That's a great observation! Good question, and I'd like to say more, but for now, just ignore that and go ahead and use the PC. 'Someone' is the person who made the Pokemon Storage System... Someone I'm sure you'll meet someday! OK, let's move on!" The professor said happily. Touko and Cheren looked at each other, and Touko couldn't help but laugh at the bored expression on Cheren's face. The professor led them to a section of the Center they had passed by earlier, where there were two men behind a blue counter. Touko noticed that the men were wearing the same uniform as the woman she had seen earlier.

"Hey, Cheren. I met a woman earlier who wore the same uniform. She gave me a Potion." Touko whispered to Cheren, who was walking beside her. Cheren nodded.

"Yeah, Bianca and I met her too. She also gave us sample Potions." He whispered back. Touko grinned, but then suddenly realised that Cheren had said 'Bianca and I' and began to feel angry once again.

"Now, this is the Poke Mart. This is the place to buy useful items and sell the ones you don't need anymore! That gentleman over there will help you with a smile!" She pointed towards the counter before stepping back from the group. "So, let's wrap this up. I've given you the basics of being a Trainer! I'm going to head back to Nuvema Town. One final thing... When you get to Striaton City, go and meet an inventor named Fennel. She's a friend of mine from long ago, and I'm sure she'll help you on your way! Best of luck! I hope that your journeys prove to be the adventure of a lifetime!" And with one final wave of goodbye, the electronic doors opened and she walked out of sight.

"Ooh! What should I buy? Potions and Poke Balls are definitely important. Ummm... thinking..." she mumbled on. Cheren sighed.

"I'm going to go get my Pokemon and then head out. I want to get to Striaton quickly." He said, and walked back to the pink counter. Touko and Bianca followed behind.

The nurse smiled, and gave each one of the trainers their Pokemon back. The trio called out their primary Pokemon, and Touko smiled happily to see that Rior's strength was restored. Bianca hugged her Aqueous and then walked towards the mart again.

"So Cheren... I'll see you around?" Touko said sadly. Cheren was rather oblivious, and didn't notice the sadness in the girl's tone and nodded.

"Yes. We'll see each other soon. 'Bye Touko. 'Bye Bianca!" He waved goodbye to the two girls before heading out the same way as the professor had just minutes ago. Bianca and Touko made their way to the mart, and Touko wondered what she'd get.

"How much money do you have with you Touko?" Bianca asked her friend.

"About 4000. I can easily ask mum for more, but I'm fine I suppose so far. Plus, if I get into battling Leaders and stuff... yeah..." she said, and Touko bought nine Potions and paid 2700. As Bianca went to the counter to get what she wanted, Touko told her goodbye.

"Since we're all heading our own ways, anyway, then I guess I'll get going. I'll look around town for a bit too, so if you need me, just give me a call, OK?" She told Bianca, and Bianca happily nodded. Touko walked out of the Center sadly, as she had hoped that Bianca would suggest that they travel together.

When she walked out, she turned her head to hear two men talking.

"Sounds like something's going on in the plaza!" One of the men said.

"Well, let's have a little look-see." The other man said, and they walked towards the western side of town. Intrigued, Touko decided to follow them and saw a grand crowd surrounding what seemed to be a little green plaza. In between the crowd she found Cheren, and Cheren spotted her as well and waved.

"Touko, come here a sec." He said, and then pointed towards the people on the plaza. Touko watched as a group of people wearing medieval suits stood in a straight line behind a green-haired man. Next to them were two banners with the symbols 'PS'. The man in front frightened Touko slightly. He was a scary man, and when he began to talk, his words scared her even more.

"My name is Ghetsis. I am here representing Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to you about Pokemon liberation." He said, and waited for a few minutes as Touko heard the crowd whispering in confusion. Cheren and Touko stared at each other before looking back at the man again. "I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokemon are partners that have come to live together because we want and need each other. However... Is that really the truth? Have you ever considered that perhaps we humans... only assume that this is the truth?" The whispering in the crowd was getting louder, and Touko held on to Rior tightly as if protecting him.

The man walked back and forth along the plaza, irritably convincing with his words. "Pokemon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" He asked the crowd, and once again, the whispering got louder. Cheren frowned.

"That is not true at all." He simply said to Touko. But as Touko looked from her best friend to Ghetsis, she couldn't help but feel a little insecure about the matter the man was discussing.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, Pokemon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we humans have much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility towards these wonderful beings called Pokemon?" He asked the crowd again. Touko heard the people around her whispering and shuddered when one wondered whether it could be liberation. She looked around the ground, as if hoping there was someone who would disagree, but merely saw insecure faces. She thought she saw a flash of green, but when she looked again, the green was gone.

"That's right! We must liberate the Pokemon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokemon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokemon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention." And then the medieval group made a formation that surrounded the green-haired man and the group left. Everyone was left staring at each other and speaking.

"About that speech... What do you think we should do?" An old man asked.

"Liberate Pokemon? That's not even possible!" A younger man protested.

Soon the crowd that was gathered around the plaza took their own ways. Cheren and Touko were left staring at each other and their Pokemon.

"Touko, don't tell me you're actually considering that man's words." Cheren told Touko in disbelief. Touko shook her head, but continued to look at Rior, who was still in her arms. She put Rior down and then bent down to speak to him.

"Say Rior, do you agree with what that man said? Am I using you for battles? Did I hurt you when I told you to battle Cheren, Bianca, and those wild Pokemon?" She asked Rior. But Rior simply tilted his head and said nothing that his trainer could possibly understand. Touko sighed.

"Your Pokemon... Just now, it was saying..." Touko immediately took hold of Rior and stood up, both her and Cheren looking at a tall boy in front of them. The boy must have been older than them, he had tea-green hair and wore accessories that Touko had never seen another person wear before. She didn't say anything, but Cheren took a step forward.

"Slow down. You talk too fast." He told the boy. "And what's this about Pokemon... talking? That's an odd thing to say." Cheren said. But the boy's gaze was fixiated on Rior.

"Yes, they're talking." He said, his gaze still on the Grass-type Pokemon. "Oh." He looked up for the first time, Touko seeing his thoughtful blue-grey eyes. "Then, you two can't hear it, either... How sad." He said, and Touko had an impression that the boy really thought that it was a sad thing. "My name is N." He introduced himself.

"My name is Cheren, and this is Touko." Cheren answered back. "We were asked to complete the Pokedex, and we just left on our journey." He explained. Then he smiled in confidence and said, "My main goal is to become the Champion, though." N, however, seemed unaffected by Cheren's burst of confidence. He continuted to stare at Rior, and Touko held on to her Pokemon tightly, as if afraid that the young man would grab him and run. Suddenly, N stopped staring at Rior and shifted his gaze to Cheren, and now N's face seemed to be filled with disgust.

"The Pokedex, eh? So... You're going to confine many, many Pokemon in Poke Balls for that, then. I'm a Trainer, too, but I can't help wondering... Are Pokemon really happy that way?" He told Cheren. Cheren felt uncomfortable under the teen's gaze and took a step back. N's gaze, however, turned back to Rior, and as he stared at the Pokemon, he took a step closer to Touko and stared at her in the eyes. Touko, surprised, took a step back, afraid of the sudden close distance between them.

"Well, Touko, is it? Let me hear your Pokemon' voice again!" In seconds, N called out a Purrloin and Touko turned towards Cheren in despair. Cheren however, was taking steps back from the pair and simply gave her a sympathetic smile.

"He challenged you to a battle, you must accept." Cheren simply told her. Touko hesitated, but when she looked at Rior and saw the fierce determination in his eyes, she nodded. She took steps back from the tall teenager, and soon the two were ready to face off.

"Purrloin, Scratch." N commanded smoothly. The Purrloin looked at Rior and quickly ran to him, scratching his body at the front. A red line began to appear on his stomach, and Touko began to worry.

"Rior, use Leer!" Touko ordered, and Rior stood up straight and leered at the Purrloin. Purrloin, however, seemed unaffected. It appeared to Touko as if both Pokemon and Trainer seemed to share the same character traits, especially when it came to confidence.

"Scratch." N ordered once again, and the Purrloin attacked the Snivy once more, hitting him this time on his back. Rior gave a low cry of pain, and Touko flinched. She ordered Rior to use Leer again, and he fixed his stature and leered at the Purrloin with all his might.

N ordered Purrloin to use Scratch again, and it was easy to see the red lines that had formed on Rior's body from the Pokemon's sharp claws. Rior seemed to get weaker, but Touko ordered him to use Leer again, hoping that it would weaken Purrloin's defence enough. And although he was getting tired, Rior leered at Purrloin, and this time, the Purrloin took a step back, surprised by the Pokemon's sudden burst of confidence. Even N seemed to be surprised, and when Touko looked at him, his confident stature seemed to be replaced by that of an excited kid.

"More! Let me hear the voice of your Pokemon!" He cried in excitement. Touko stared at him weirdly, before ordering Rior to use Leer once again. "Use Scratch!" N ordered, and the Purrloin scratched Rior on the back again, and Rior gave a louder cry of pain. When Purrloin got back to his trainer's side, Touko noticed a grin forming on his tired face. She turned towards Cheren, as if asking him to help. But Cheren was staring intently at the battle.

"You have to attack physically Touko." He told her. Touko looked back at Rior who seemed to pant heavier than Purrloin. She was afraid that if she ordered Rior to use Tackle, then it would use up the rest of his energy. Instead, she ran to Rior's side and sprayed a Potion to him, immediately seeing the red lines disappearing. This, however, did not seem to have affected N. He was back to his original character, full of confidence and all trace of excitement gone, and ordered Purrloin to use Scratch once again.

Touko could see the Purrloin ready to pounce on both her and Rior, ready to scratch them both. But something flashed before Rior's eyes, and he jumped in front of his trainer and attacked the ready-to-pounce Purrloin with a Vine Whip. This surprised both the Pokemon and the trainers. The Purrloin fell back to his trainer's side and N turned his eyes on Rior. Touko watched, still down on her knees, as Rior glared at N menacingly before he turned away.

"I never expected to hear Pokemon say such things..." He muttered to himself. He bent down to pick up the unconscious Purrloin and began to walk away. Cheren rushed to his friend's side and helped her up as Rior walked back to his trainer. N turned his head slightly and spoke in a silent tone, 'As long as Pokemon are confined in Poke Balls... Pokemon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokemon, because they're my friends." Cheren and Touko watched as his retreating figure disappeared in the crowd.

"Huh... Strange guy." Cheren muttered to himself. "But I'm not going to worry about it. Trainers and Pokemon help each other out!" He exclaimed. "Listen, I'm going on ahead. I want to battle the Gym Leader in the next town - Striaton City. Aim to battle Gym Leader after Gym Leader. The best way for a Trainer to become stronger is to challenge the Gym Leaders in each area." Cheren advised her. He turned towards Touko and smiled. "What are you going to do now Touko?" He asked. Touko shrugged.

"I might as well stay overnight. I'm not in a hurry." She said jokingly, and Cheren laughed. He told her goodbye and was about to leave when she called his name. He tilted his head. "Take care of yourself." Touko told him and Cheren nodded.

Touko stood at the plaza until Cheren was out of sight. Once he was gone, she looked up at the sky to see that it was almost nightfall, and decided to head towards the Pokemon Center to get a room for the night.

As she walked around the town, she began to think of the things N had told her and Cheren. Of course, they couldn't possibly be true. Pokemon couldn't possibly despise being with trainers... could they?

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**_Just a side note. I really do like the Game version of N. He's pretty awesome. Can't say much (yet) about the manga version though..._**


	5. Striaton City

_**Apparently I initially uploaded this chapter twice. And it's not even my favourite chapter. Oh well. Who's your favourite character in the Pokemon Black&White franchise? Mine's definitely N. For no particular reason. I'm looking forward to the next part!**_

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Touko woke up early the next morning. She grinned as she realised that she had really begun her adventure, that she hadn't simply been dreaming about it. She looked around the room and found Rior sleeping by the tip of her bed. She crept up to him slowly and jumped on him, surprising the Pokemon. Touko laughed while Rior thought that his trainer's joke was highly immature.

When Touko finished showering and wearing a new outfit, she checked that she hadn't forgotten any of her things before leaving the Center. As she made her way towards the town's exit, she met a father with his daughter and Patrat. The father had given her a Poke Ball, much to Touko's embarrassment, and the daughter wanted to play rock-paper-scissors with her. Touko laughed as the girl taught her about type disadvantages, something that she had already learned. But she loved kids, so she continued to play with her for a while longer, and smiled as she saw Rior playing with Patrat.

The town's exit gate was like something Touko had never seen before. There was an electronic bulletin board which gave information on several cities in Unova. Touko found the board quite interesting, and tried not to laugh when she saw a girl who was sitting just opposite the board and was watching it intently. Once she got to Route 2, her Xtransceiver began to ring and she quickly picked it up.

"Touko! It's your mom! How are things?" Touko smiled as she recognised her mom's voice and told her that she was okay. "Are you and your Pokemon getting along and enjoying your journey so far? I needed to talk to you, so I called, but I'm going to hang up the Xtransceiver now." Her mom said, and before Touko could say another word, her mom had hung up.

Touko stood staring at her Xtransceiver, wondering why her mom had hung up on her. She began to worry that her mom was mad at her for not calling, and began to walk slowly towards the path that lead to Striaton City.

"Touko?" Touko quickly turned around and saw her mum, who seemed to be holding a bag and panting. Rior recognised her and ran to her, which caused her mum to laugh. "I finally caught up with you... And look how far you've come already! Professor Juniper said that you were probably headed for Striaton City by now. I have another present for you. Touko! Try these on!" She brought out two running shoes from the bag and gave them to Touko.

Touko held them for a minute before taking off her own shoes and putting them on. She walked around with them for a minute and found them very comfortable.

"When you're wearing the Running Shoes, you can go anywhere in a flash! I bought these a long time ago and stashed them away somewhere. I found them when I was cleaning up. Guess it's good to clean occasionally!" Both Touko and her mum laughed. "Touko, you understand that you're never really alone, right?" Touko stared at her mum for a minute, wondering how her mum had guessed how she was feeling. "You're with Pokemon, you have friends, and you're always in my thoughts. That's all right, then. Enjoy your trip!" Her mum said, and didn't take long and left.

Touko sat and thought of her mum's words for a while, and suddenly felt happy. Her mum was right after all, she shouldn't have been mad that she wasn't travelling with her friends. She put her sack on her shoulders again and continued on her way down Route 2.

She walked for an half an hour before finally deciding to rest. She hadn't seen any Pokemon that interested her, and there had not been one soul on the road. She gave Rior some of the Pokemon food that her mother had given her with the shoes. As she continued walking again, she came across a Purrloin and she stiffened.

The Purrloin was sitting on the street, and then turned its lazy eyes towards Touko. Rior sensed his trainer's uneasiness and quickly took place in front of her to protect her. This however, seemed to have been a big mistake, as the Purrloin mistook this as a challenge to battle. The Purrloin pounced at Rior and quickly scratched him on the head.

"Hey! Don't play dirty!" Touko cried out. She put down her sack and side bag and stood right behind Rior, determination in her eyes. The Purrloin reminded her of the events that occurred the previous day, and she turned away. "Rior, Leer!" She ordered. Rior stared deep into Purrloin's eyes and leered at her, only to receive a growl back. "Vi- Vine Whip!" Touko commanded. Rior grinned.

He ran quickly towards the surprised Purrloin and whipped her with his tail. The Purrloin responded by scratching him back, and the two Pokemon stood opposite to each other glaring. Touko ordered Rior to use Vine Whip again, but the Purrloin fought hard in order to stay conscious.

Their battle continued as Rior and Purrloin glared at each other, one whipping the other as the other continued to growl. Soon the Purrloin panted, and after one last Tackle, the Purrloin lost it's stance and ran towards the woods. Touko sighed. She bent down to her Rior and stared at him, and once again he looked at his trainer as if telling her he was alright.

"Remind me never to catch a Purrloin." She joked with Rior, and Rior grinned. She picked up her sack and bag again, and continued on her way through Route 2.

Soon she came across a boy who wanted to challenge her. He was a head shorter than she was, was wearing shorts and a shirt while his hat was upside down.

"You can't back down!" He told her, and so Touko had no choice but to accept his challenge. Snivy took position in front of her as the boy named Jimmy called out a grinned.

"Rior, Leer." Touko commanded calmly. Rior grinned and stared at the Patrat intently. The Patrat turned towards his trainer in confusion and Jimmy gave a groan of frustration.

"Don't look at me! Use Bite!" Jimmy ordered. Patrat focused again on the battle and ran to Rior and bit his tail. Rior gave a low growl of pain before pushing Patrat away. Touko looked at Rior's tail and saw the bite mark beginning to emerge.

"Use Leer again!" She exclaimed. Rior did so, only to receive a strong tackle back from the Patrat. Touko glared at Jimmy as he began a victory dance. When he caught her eyes, he immediately stopped and pretended to be serious.

"Rior. Vine Whip." She ordered. Rior sped to the Patrat and whipped him with his tail before going back towards Touko. Patrat however, was a fast Pokemon, and tackled Rior just as he was going back to his position. Rior went tumbling down and had trouble getting back up.

Touko could see it, Rior was much weaker than Patrat now. However, she knew she had to take her chances. She called Rior, who turned his eyes to her and smiled.

"Take your time Rior, and when you're ready use Vine Whip one more time." She told him calmly. Rior grinned and nodded, before standing back up and looking straight at the dumbfounded Patrat. He raced towards the Patrat and whipped him with all the strength he had. Jimmy's Patrat fainted and he recalled his Pokemon.

"What? You are too strong!" He complained. Touko picked up her things once again before walking away, leaving the boy complaining to himself of how he lost his first battle. She came across a fork, and decided to go right, only to find herself back at the gate. There was a boy there who offered to show her a trick of sliding down ledges. He had been much more fascinated in it than she was, and without thinking again, she turned back towards the road.

As Touko continued her way down Route 2, she found, to her dismay, more trainers who wanted to battle her. There was one girl with a Purrloin, who wanted to show how cute her Pokemon was. And there was another boy much like Jimmy who wanted to show off his Lillipup. Touko came to learn that it was easier to defeat her foes if she made Rior use Leer in order to lower the opposing Pokemon's defence. It was definitely the easiest way to end a battle.

And as she neared the end of Route 2 after three and half hours, she realised that she still hadn't caught any new Pokemon. Touko had only come across Patrats, Lillipups, and Purrloins, which were Pokemon that she wasn't very interested in. Route 2 had not been necessarily longer than Route 1, however there were more wild Pokemon and there had been more roads for her to choose from. And lucky for her, Touko had chosen the right paths to take in order to not get lost.

Touko soon saw a sign that showed that she was close to Striaton City. She and Rior looked at each other before the two began to run towards the city. That was, until she heard a voice that made her stop.

"Touko! C'mon, Touko!" Touko turned around abruptly to find Bianca running after her. When Bianca reached her, she gave Touko a grin. "Hey, listen! Let's have a Pokemon battle!" Bianca suggested. Touko stood staring at Bianca, one eyebrow up, wondering when exactly she had passed Bianca.

"You want to battle now Bianca?" Touko asked Bianca. Bianca stood looking at her best friend pleadingly before putting her hands together.

"Pleeeease! The Pokemon I caught have become a little stronger! Ready or not, here I come!" She said, and Bianca called out a Lillipup. "Hey Touko, this is my Lillipup called Lilli! Isn't she cute?" Touko rolled her eyes and laughed at her best friend.

"Alright Rior, another battle. Rior, Leer." She commanded Rior. Rior leered at the Lillipup, but the Lillipup immediately hit Rior with a Tackle. Touko looked between Lilli and Bianca in shock. Bianca was grinning.

"I told you we got stronger. But Touko, do you still only have Rior?" Bianca asked her. Touko laughed nervously and saw Bianca's inapproving glare.

"Not my fault. Rior, use Leer again!" Touko called, trying hard to avoid the subject of her not catching any more Pokemon.

"Lilli, use Odor Sleuth!" Touko watched as the Lillipup sniffed Rior and Rior took a step back, clearly surprised.

"Hey Bianca, check this out. New move. Rior, use Wrap!" Touko called. Rior grinned before he went towards Lilli and wrapped her with his tail. Lilli gave a cry of pain as Rior continued to wrap her.

"B-both my Pokemon and I are going to give it our all!" Bianca called out. "Come on, Lilli. Use Growl!" Although Lilli was tightly wrapped around Rior's tail, she growled at Rior who turned away.

"Rior, use Vine Whip!" Touko called out. Rior let go of Lilli, only to immediately hit her on her body, sending her back unconscious. Rior and Touko grinned at their victory and Bianca recalled her Pokemon. She searched through her green bag for her other Poke Ball, and when she managed to pull it out and smiled at Touko.

"OK! This little one is up next! Go Aqueous!" Bianca called out Aqueous, and Rior smiled at his old friend.

"Alright Rior, this is going to be easy. Use Vine Whip." Touko commanded, her patience almost running out. She was hungry, and she had been battling for over two hours now with trainers and Pokemon. Rior did as he was told and whipped the water-type Pokemon. Aqueous almost fainted, and by the time he stood up he was shaking.

"Uh-oh. Am I in trouble? Aqueous, use Water Gun!" Bianca commanded. Aqueous shot a jet of water at Rior, but Rior was barely affected and seemed to enjoy the water.

"Bianca you're forgetting the type disadvantage. Water-type is weak to Grass-type." Touko explained. "Rior, Tackle." She told Rior. But as Rior was going to tackle Aqueous, Bianca approached her Pokemon and sprayed a Potion on him. "Rior, be careful!" Touko cried out last minute. Rior noticed what had happened and hit Aqueous in the belly. "Bianca, you idiot. Do you want to get hurt?" Touko cried out. Bianca quickly walked away.

"Sorry! Sorry! But I thought it was the right thing to do!" Bianca defended herself. Touko smacked her head with her hand and then shook it. She looked up at Bianca again.

"It's was the right thing to do Bianca, but don't do it when a Pokemon's about to attack." Touko told her back. But this time Bianca stared at Touko as if she was hiding something. "What is it?" Touko asked her.

"Cheren told me about what _you_ did when you were battling that whoever-it-was-green-headed guy!" Bianca called out. Touko sweatdropped.

"Oh whatever! I'm hungry, tired, and I want to get to Striaton City! Rior, Vine Whip!" Touko called out. Rior sighed before whipping Aqueous again with a Vine Whip, Aqueous immediately fainting after. Bianca bent down to pick up Aqueous and sighed.

"Aww... I couldn't win..." she mumbled. Touko approached her and Bianca looked at her best friend. Her defeat however did not affect her usual excited behaviour. "Woo-hoo! You are a tough cookie, Touko. I'm gonna work hard on training my Pokemon so we won't lose anymore! OK, bye-bye!" And before Touko could say anything else, Bianca went back towards the path she had come from before.

Touko stood there for a few minutes, wondering what the heck had just happened. She turned to look down at Rior who shrugged.

"That was... weird..." she told Rior. Their statued position was interrupted as Touko's stomach began to grumble. She blushed as Rior began to laugh. "Not funny Rior!" And they began to head towards the city again, Touko happy to see cement buildings and a Pokemon Center.

As she approached the first apartment building, a man spoke to her and gave her a Great Ball. Touko thanked the weird man, and he immediately went into a building. Touko stared at Rior again, who was now on her shoulder, before they continued towards the Pokemon Center.

The first thing she saw though was a grand and beautiful building which was sited right beside the Pokemon Center. Intrigued by the building, she went close to it and found a man wearing sun glasses standing right at the entrance.

"E-excuse me but..." But she was interrupted as the man turned and noticed her.

"Are you looking for the Gym Leader? He is not here. He could be in the Trainers' School. If you want to challenge him, please go find him. The Trainers' School is not far from this Gym." He said, and then turned around again.

Touko walked away from the building, staring at the man weirdly. She entered the Pokemon Center and immediately went to the front desk with the nurse.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Center. How may I help you?" The nurse asked.

Touko put down her sack and Rior went down as Touko looked around.

"Actually, I was wondering whether I could book a room for tonight." Touko replied. The nurse smiled and nodded, went to a drawer by her desk and then returned. She gave the key to room 102 to Touko.

"Is that all you'll be needing? We can heal your Pokemon as well." The nurse offered. Touko smiled and shook her head.

"No thank you. Is there some kind of restaurant, or some place, where... I can get food around here?" Touko managed to ask. The nurse giggled and nodded.

"Yes, the building next door is a restaurant. I'm sure they'd love to serve you." She said. Touko thanked the nurse before going to her room.

She left her sack in the room and headed out again, the day still long. She bought three more Potions at the Pokemon Mart before heading out of the Center. She went out, and looked around for the building the nurse had said. One building was the one she had been in before, the one that the man said was the Gym Leader's building. So Touko decided to go to the building to the left.

When Touko entered the building though, she didn't find tables, waiters, and food. Instead, she found desks, students, and teachers. She walked in hesitantly, and headed towards the back of the room. She found a young boy reading a book and approached him.

"E-excuse me but..." but like the man had done before, the boy turned towards her and began to talk to her.

"Would you like to take a quiz?" He asked her. Touko nodded hesitantly. The boy smiled and put the book down. "OK. Which of the following items cures poison? Antidote, Parlyz Heal, or Awakening?" Touko wanted to slap herself. That was such an easy question.

"Antidote." She answered. The boy began to jump up and down.

"Ding ding ding! Right answer! Now for the next question." Touko was distracted for a minute as she saw a man with green hair pas behind the boy. His hair had terribly reminded her of her encounter with N and she frowned. "Um... so... the item that cures... hey... the item that cures paralysis is Parlyz Heal, but... Which of the following items wakes up a sleeping Pokemon? Antidote, Parlyz Heal, or Awakening?" He asked her. Touko chuckled.

"Awakening of course." She replied. The boy jumped up and down again.

"Ding ding ding! We have a winenr! Fantastic answer! Since you know so much about status conditions, I'll give you this!" The boy turned towards his desk and gave Touko a bottle called a Full Heal, which, as he explained, healed all status problems.

Touko thanked the boy before heading towards the very back of the room where the chalkboard was. The black haired boy at the front seemed familiar to her, and so when she crept up behind him, she wasn't surprised to find out that it was Cheren.

"When a Pokemon is poisoned, its HP decreases while it is battling." Cheren mumbled to himself. Touko poked him softly on the shoulder and he turned around. "Hey, Touko. Have you come looking for the Gym Leader?" He asked her. Touko shook his head, and Cheren continued. "Nothing can make you improve like challenging Gym Leaders. By the way, Touko, will you have a battle with me? I want to test how important items are in battles." He explained.

"Cheren, we're in... well... a building. Are you sure we can... you know... battle?" She asked him. Cheren laughed.

"Yes, yes, we can. It's a Trainers' School. Students battle all the time. So?" He asked her again, and seeing the determination in his eyes, Touko nodded. "Well, let's see how effective my items are... Or maybe I should test how well I can battle without items...?" she heard Cheren mutter under his breath. "Anyway, this is an indoor match, so let's battle without getting too rough!" He winked at her and Touko laughed.

The first Pokemon Cheren called out was Blaze, and Touko hesitantly told Rior to go to battle. Cheren's eyebrows rose and he smirked at her.

"What is this? Still training Rior all by himself?" He said smugly. Touko stuck out a tongue at him and he laughed.

"Rior, use Leer." She said, hoping that if she managed to drop Blaze's defense, she'd have a chance to win. Cheren chuckled.

"Blaze, use Ember." He ordered, and Blaze blew a small flame towards Rior. Rior's tail began to burn, and he went around in circles trying to put it out. By the time he got the flame out, Rior's tail was dark.

"Rior, Wrap him!" Touko called. Rior hesitantly approached Blaze and wrapped him with his tail. Blaze however was simply smiling at Rior, even though Rior was tightening his grip on him.

"Tail Whip, Blaze." Cheren said, and Blaze whipped Rior with his tail. Rior got hurt but continued to hold onto Blaze. "Moves that never miss and moves that can attack first... There sure are a lot of different moves." Cheren mumbled under his breath. Touko rolled her eyes at her friend's constant analysations.

"Tackle!" Touko commanded. Without letting go, Rior tackled Blaze with his head. Blaze began to pant, however suddenly he began to eat a berry. "What the..." Touko muttered. As soon as Blaze finished with his Oran Berry, he smiled at Rior again, who in turn sweatdropped. Rior's moment of confusion however was struck when Blaze used Ember again on him.

Not wanting to lose by her best friend, Touko took a Potion from her bag, sprayed it on Rior and then walked to her position again. From across the room, she saw Cheren grinning at her. Blaze took the opportunity to use Ember again, and Rior went through the process of trying to avoid the fire again. He continued to hold on tight to Blaze, but the fire was clearly affecting him.

The battle between Grass and Fire-types continued, with Cheren attacking with continuous Embers and Touko defending with Tackles. Students and teachers had gathered around the two and watched intently to see whether Touko could manage to win through the type disadvantage. There was one final move left, one final move and either Blaze or Rior would faint and their trainer would win.

"Rior use Tackle!" Touko called, and Rior tackled the Fire-type one more time. Blaze fainted, and Cheren recalled his Pokemon through gritted teeth. He grabbed another Poke Ball from his belt and called out Purrloin. Touko flinched.

"It's important to choose which item your Pokemon holds..." Cheren said. Rior was panting, and was obviously having a very hard time standing up. Touko grabbed another Potion from her bag and sprayed it on Rior. Purrloin took the chance and scratched Rior, and Touko was reminded of the battle with N as the red marks began to appear on Rior's skin.

"Rior, let's go back to basics. Use Leer!" She said, and Rior nodded. Rior leered at the Purrloin, but like his previous battles with Purrloins, the Pokemon was hardly affected.

"Pard, use Assist." Touko watched shocked as the Purrloin concentrated and then shot a ball of fire at Rior. "Assist allows Pard to use any move that any of my other Pokemon has." Cheren explained. Touko glared at him.

"'Pard' as in, 'Liepard'? Who's copying who, eh?" She taunted him, causing him to flush. She laughed. "Rior, use Vine Whip!" Touko called out, and Rior rushed to Pard and whipped him. Pard began to pant, and the red marks form the whipping began to appear on his skin.

Cheren though, commanded Pard to use Assist again, and like before, Pard shot a ball of fire at Rior. Touko had no choice but to use a Potion on Rior again. Cheren's face was serious now as he ordered Pard to scratch Rior.

"Rior, use Tackle!" Touko said. Rior sped up and hit Pard hard on the stomach, sending him backwards. To everyone, and Touko's surprise, Pard fainted. Cheren recalled his unconscious Pokemon, fixed his glasses, and gave Touko a smile.

"I see! Losing to you means that I still have a lot to learn." He told her. Touko blushed as everyone gathered around them congratulated her for her single-handed victory. When everyone was gone, she turned towards Cheren again. "So learning to use items well is definitely important, then. Oh, here. Touko, I'll give you these Berries." He handed Touko some Oran Berries, which Touko happily put in her bag. "If you give a Pokemon this kind of Berry to hold, it will eat it to heal up when its HP goes down in battle. But if you give Pokemon man-made items like Potions to hold, they can't use them." Cheren explained to her. "Well, good luck then." He said, and turned towards the board again and began to read.

Touko laughed at her friend and headed outside the Trainers' School to look for the restaurant. She was still, after all, hungry. She decided to look around town for a while, hoping that she'd find it soon, but instead, she found herself in front of the same building she had been interesting in before. In front of the building though, was now the same green-haired boy that she had seen before in the trainer's school.

"Um, excuse me... are you perhaps...?" she began. The boy was slightly taller than her, and when he saw her, he smiled.

"Yes? Yes, I am a Gym Leader of this town. You are...?" He asked her kindly. Touko blushed.

"My name's Touko... and I was just wondering whether..." she said silently.

"Right. You want to challenge the Gym." The boy interrupted her. Touko tried to say something back, but thought that it was probably going to be useless. "In that case... what was the first Pokemon you chose?" He asked her. Touko tilted her head to show Rior on her shoulder and the boy grinned. "Snivy... I see. It's weak against Fire-type Pokemon." He stated. "I think you need to prepare to face that type. For example, try training your Pokemon in the Dreamyard. Please excuse me now." He advised her, and then proceeded to go inside the building.

Touko began to walk deeper into the city, wondering what the Dreamyard was. She came across a blonde girl and approached her.

"Excuse me," she began. "Could you please tell me what the Dreamyard is?" Touko asked the girl. The girl seemed surprise by the question but nevertheless answered.

"Some trainers train themselves and their Pokemon in the Dreamyard." She explained. "You might think about going there... Could be you'll find something..." She said. She pointed the direction towards the Dreamyard and as soon as Touko thanked her, she rushed towards the place. There was a sign by the Dreamyard gate which read:

'Dreamyard ahead. A place for novice Trainers.'

Touko grinned and entered the Dreamyard. As soon as she entered the place though, she came face to face with challenging trainers. Although Touko had battled a lot during the day, she began to think that perhaps a little extra preparation before her battle against the green-haired Gym Leader would not be of any harm.

When Touko defeated two trainers in the Dreamyard with Rior, she saw a girl and groaned. She did not want to battle again. She tried passing by unnoticed, but the girl did see her and rushed to Touko's side.

"Hey! Hey, you! What was the first Pokemon you received?" The girl asked her. Touko straightened her back and looked at the girl.

"You're not challenging me to a battle?" She asked the girl. The girl laughed and shook her head no. "Well... then... um... it was Snivy." Touko replied, pointing to the tired Rior on her shoulder.

"Snivy! Really? Then Panpour could be a big help! Your Snivy does not do well against Fire-type Pokemon! Say, do you want this Panpour of mine?" The girl asked her. Touko took a step back surprised.

"Wait... you're giving me a Pokemon?" She asked in disbelief. The girl smiled held out her hand which was holding a Poke Ball. "For real?" Touko repeated. The girl nodded. "Well... then... I guess... sure!" Touko managed to say. The girl grinned and gave Touko the Poke Ball.

"OK. Here you go! It can use Water-type moves, so that makes it cool against Fire types! If you have many times of Pokemon, something will work out, no matter what kind of Pokemon you have to face." The girl explained merrily. Touko took the Poke Ball and held it. She stared at Rior who stared back at her in wonderment. "Well? Come on, call your new Pokemon out!" The girl encouraged.

Touko called out the Panpour inside the Poke Ball and a red light flashed. A blue, monkey-like Pokemon came out of the ball and turned to look at its new trainer. Touko bent down to talk to her new Pokemon and Rior approached Panpour as well.

"Hey there. I'm Touko, and this is Rior." Touko said. The Panpour looked at Touko then at Rior and smiled. She went to Rior and hugged him, much to Rior's surprise. Both Touko and the girl laughed. "I guess she likes Grass-types. Hey Panpour," the Panpour smiled and looked back at her trainer. "How do you like the name 'Imi'?" Touko asked. Panpour tilted her head before grinning. Touko laughed. "I'll take that as an okay. You'll get used to it." She said.

Touko picked up the tired Rior and put him in her arms. Imi, however, looked at her, and Touko decided to carry Imi for the while. She told Rior to stay on her shoulder, and Rior nodded. She thanked the girl before walking back towards Striaton City. Now she was ready to battle that green haired Gym Leader. She was sure she'd win.


	6. Dreams of Hope

_**Touko's first gym battle! By the way, I preferred Touko over Hilda because... it's really so much better than Hilda. Let's just pretend Touko's full name for now is Touko Hilda White. That would make the guy version Touya Hilbert Black huh? Argh. Oh well. I'll figure it out later.**_

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When Touko entered the building for the first time ever, she was surprised to see that a Gym Leader's building looked exactly like a restaurant. She looked around until the same man with sun glasses approached her.

"Hello! I'm Clyde. I'm the guide for Trainers challenging a Pokemon Gym." He told her. "We appreciate your challenging the Gym. Take this to commemorate the occasion." Clyde handed her a bottle of fresh water, and Touko took it while looking at him weirdly.

"Excuse me, but isn't this is a Gym?" She asked Clyde. Clyde grinned.

"Yes, indeed it is. But it is also a very famous restaurant." He answered. Touko 'oh'ed and Clyde continued. "One basic element of Pokemon battles is the relationship between types. If you choose Pokemon with effective types and effective moves, victory is just a step away! In this Gym, you proceed by stepping on the switch with the type that is effective against the Pokemon type shown on the curtain." He pointed towards a large red curtain and three tiles that were in front of it, and Touko nodded.

She thanked the guide before proceeding towards the curtain. She noticed a woman at a corner who was welcoming people to the 'restaurant/Gym'. She giggled.

The first red curtain had a flame on it. In front of the flame was a green switch with a leaf, another red switch with a flame, and a blue switch with a water drop. She stepped on the blue switch with the water drop and the curtain opened.

As she continued to the next curtain, a waiter ran to her quickly.

"Welcome to Striaton Gym!" He said. "Care for a taste of battle? I'll serve up the first course!" It was then that Touko learned that before one challenged a Gym Leader, she'd have to go through the rest of the Gym trainers first.

Once Touko defeated the waiter, she turned towards the curtain again. This time, the curtain was blue, and it had a water drop on it. On the three switches were the same symbols as before, and Touko easily stepped on the green switch with the leaf. She found herself with a second challenger, a waitress this time. Touko sighed.

By the time Touko defeated the waitress, both Rior and Imi were exhausted. Before stepping on the last switch, Touko decided to rest for five minutes and spray Potions on her two Pokemon. Once she was done, she turned towards the last curtain. The last curtain was a green curtain, and it had a leaf on it. The same three switches were on the floor, and Touko stepped lightly on the red switch.

When the curtain opened, she found herself in a large dining room. At the back of the room, in a battle arena, was the green haired boy she had seen previously smiling at her. She approached him and grinned.

"Welcome to the Striaton City Pokemon Gym." He said. He bowed, and suddenly a red headed boy appeared from behind the green haired boy and took position to his right. Touko took a step back, surprised.

"I'm Chili! I light things up with Fire-type Pokemon!" He introduced himself. Although Touko was still surprised, she grinned as the two boys looked at her with warm smiles. Then, to the left of the green haired boy, a blue haired boy appeared. Touko looked in between the three boys in confusion.

"I'm a Water-type specialist, and my name is Cress." The blue haired boy said. He approached Touko and took her one hand, lifted it to his face and kissed it. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." He said softly, and Touko blushed. The green haired boy rolled his eyes and did a swift, but clumsy, turn.

"And my name is Cilan. I like Grass-type Pokemon." He said. Once Touko looked at the three boys carefully, she noticed that all three had similar looking faces and were more or less the same height.

"I... don't want to sound like... an idiot, or anything but... I'm confused." Touko admitted. Rior who was on her shoulder nodded his head. Touko had recalled Imi in order to allow her to rest.

"Um, you see..." Cilan began. "As for why the three of us, um, are all here is, well, er..." but Cilan was having a hard time explaining, and Touko couldn't help but sympathasise with him. She was, after all, more or less like him when it came to talking.

"Oh, enough! Listen up!" Chili interrupted. "The three of us will decide whom you'll battle! It'll be based on the type of the first Pokemon you chose!" Chili explained in excitement.

"That is indeed the case." Cress continued, keeping up with the softness in his voice. "And the partner you first chose was Grass type, it seems." He said, slightly tilting his head to point at Rior. Both Cilan and Cress then took steps back towards the back of the room and Chili faced Touko.

"Ta-da! The Fire-type scorcher Chili - that's me - will be your opponent!" He exclaimed. Touko looked behind the red head towards the other two. Cilan gave her a 'I'm-sorry' kind of look.

"... Uh hm. I always seem to lose the timing of... of the dance. Like that. True enough, I did want to... want to have a Pokemon battle with you." He told her. Touko smiled. She turned to look at Cress, but this time, Cress seemed to have a somewhat smug smile on his face.

"How exceedingly lucky for you that you do not have to face me." He told her. Touko slightly frowned before turning back to look at the excited Chili.

"Yeeeeooow!" He cried out, surprising Touko. "Time to play with FIRE! I'm the strongest of us brothers!" He said, and he called out his first Pokemon, a Lillipup.

"Pyromaniac..." Touko muttered under her breath before sending Rior on the arena. Cilan and Cress heard the girl's comment and began to laugh, while Chili had not. "Rior, begin with Leer!" She ordered. Rior leered at Lillipup, who, however, did not seem affected.

"Bite him Lillipup!" Chili called out excitedly. Lillipup ran towards Rior and bit his tail, and Rior tried to get him off by running around. Touko wanted to slap her face while the three brothers continued to laugh.

"Rior, Wrap!" She called. Rior used his tail once more to wrap the Lillipup. Chili chuckled and Lillipup bit Rior again, and this time Rior gave a low cry of pain.

"As if that would work on my Pokemon!" Chili called out to Touko. Touko rolled her eyes.

"Use Leer again Rior." She told Rior calmly. Rior nodded and leered at Lillipup in his eyes. This time, Lillipup gave a small whimper.

"Lillipup, yo! Use Work Up!" Chili told his Pokemon. Touko watched as the Lillipup began to jump up and down and focused on his power.

"Come on Rior, Tackle him!" Touko ordered. Rior grinned, as if happy that he'd finally attack the little pup. He tackled the Lillipup, who almost fainted. Chili, clearly frustrated with the turn of events, ordered Lillipup to bite Rior again. "You've got to be kidding me..." Touko muttered, as Rior began to roll around again while having the Lillipup wrapped and biting down on its tail. The three brothers were laughing again, and Touko wanted to simply throw something at them.

Chili used a Potion on Lillipup, so the 'Tackle' and 'Bite' fight continued. Touko told Rior to wrap the Lillipup tighter, and Rior gladly did so, angry at the bitemarks that were showing on his skin from the small Pokemon. After ten minutes, both Rior and the Lillipup were on the verges of fainting. Touko only had one more chance, or Rior would faint.

"Come on Rior, wrap him tighter." She told her Pokemon. Rior nodded and wrapped the small pup even tighter than before. This time, the Lillipup couldn't handle the pressure and eventually fainted. Chili groaned in frustration and Touko's eyes found Cilan and Cress mildly interested in the battle.

"It's not over yet! One more left! This is where I give it my all!" He said, and called out his second Pokemon, a Pansear. Touko grinned and decided to call out of the arena Rior, who was very tired. She got Imi's ball and called her out.

Chili began with Work Up and Touko smiled, glad that he hadn't immediately attacked. "Imi, use Water Gun!" Touko called out, her tone almost matching Chili's tone just before his Lillipup was defeated. Chili gritted his teeth.

"Pansear, Incinerate!" Chili shouted. Pansear shot long flames at Imi, and just before Imi got badly injured, Touko ordered her to avoid it and use Leer. Imi got hit, but leered at Pansear nevertheless. Chili ordered Pansear to use Incinerate again, and soon both Imi and Pansear were panting.

Touko began to think of her chances of winning at the stage. She couldn't order Imi to attack, because Chili's Pansear was much faster and would probably attack Imi first. So instead, she grabbed a Potion from her bag, sprayed it on Imi, and then turned back again.

The Pansear managed to hit Imi with Incinerate two more times before Imi got to hit him back. Imi shot the same wave of water at Pansear, and Pansear fell unconscious. Chili shook his head before embarrassed, recalled his fainted Pokemon.

"You got me." He said simply, the excitement in his voice gone. "I am... burned... out..." he muttered. As Touko approached Imi to congratulate her, while having Rior in her arms, Chili seemed to get back to his excited character. Touko looked up at him and laughed.

"Whoa ho! You're on fire! Well, it's the Pokemon League's rule. Take this Gym Badge!" He handed Touko a small golden badge which had three blue, red, and green stones on it. She took it and happily put the badge inside the badge case which the Professor had given her. The other two brothers walked towards them.

"Gym Badges are proof of a Trainer's you have one Badge, Pokemon, including traded Pokemon up to Lv. 20, will obey you without question." Cilan explained. Then he grinned. "We also want you to have this." He said, and handed her a TM. "TM83 contains Work Up. If you use Work Up, the Pokemon's Attack and Sp. Atk go up!" He told her. "By the way, TMs can be used as many times as you want." He added.

Cress congratulated her and the four of them laughed at Chili's loss. When they headed towards the exit of the Gym, Cilan gave Touko one more piece of advice.

"In the Unova region, we are still novice Gym Leaders. Which means the other Gym Leaders are much stronger than we are. We'll need to work hard and improve. And so should you." He said, and gave her a supporting smile. As she headed outside the door, her stomach growled. She turned around hesitantly and smiled at the twins and at Clyde.

"Say... I hear this place is a good restaurant... and I haven't quite... eaten in a while." She said shyly, and the three brothers began to laugh. They offered her a table and she sat both with Rior and Imi. The three brothers helped serve food on the table, and once they were done, they joined her.

"So you're from Nuvema Town then?" Chili asked her, while eating on some vegetables. Touko took a sip of soda before nodding.

"Yes. I started my trip yesterday." She simply answered. Touko watched as both the Gym Leaders' Pokemon and her Pokemon ate near the table.

"How has your journey been so far?" Cress asked her, in his soft and melodic voice.

"It's been alright. Although there was something that troubled me yesterday." Touko said silently. The three brothers didn't seem to mind knowing about her, and Touko felt comfortable around them. Chili looked up from his food.

"What troubled you?" Cilan asked before Chili could say something. Cilan gave Cress a look as the blue haired boy shook his head.

"It was nothing of much importance. There's this group, people wearing weird medieval costumes or something. Their representative had a speech yesterday, about Pokemon. And then there was this guy..." Touko stopped, as she remembered her battle with N and his words.

"What? Your boyfriend?" Chili suddenly blurted out. Touko choked on her food, and Cress immediately offered her a glass of water while Cilan glared at Chili. "What? She said it was about a guy!" He defended himself. Once Touko calmed down, she rolled her eyes.

"I don't even know him. He wanted to battle me, to 'speak' to Rior, or something. I believe his name was N." She explained, and this time it was Chili's turn to choke. Cress gave his brother a glass of water disapprovingly while Cilan looked at Cress.

"Well, I think I really should be going. I've bothered you enough as it is." Touko said as she finished her dinner. The brothers told her it was a pleasure seeing her battle and meeting her, and with one last wave goodbye, Touko left the building. The brothers stood staring at the door for a moment before Cress walked away. Cilan followed silently and Chili followed after his brothers seriously, as they headed towards the back room of the building.

As Touko walked out happily with Rior and Imi, she noticed that it was already dark. As she walked down the stairs, a woman wearing a lab coat and glasses approached her.

"Hey there! I'm Fennel." Touko shook the inventor's hand. "Professor Juniper asked me to give you something. Please, follow me!" Touko followed Fennel to an apartment building she had passed when she first entered the city. Fennel explained to her that she had already come in contact with Cheren, and she had only heard from people that Touko was in the Gym. Once they entered the building, Fennel turned towards Touko.

"You're going to meet all of the Pokemon in the Unova region. Am I right?" She asked Touko. She continued to lead Touko inside the building.

"Well, that's the plan, I guess." Touko said. She followed the inventor to a flight of stairs.

"Oh, the stairs are right there! My room is upstairs here. Come on, go upstairs!" Touko followed Fennel to a large room on the second floor which was filled with more machinery than furniture. "So like I said, I'm Fennel, and as you can see, I'm a scientist. In fact, the subject I'm researching is Trainers!" Fennel laughed. "Professor Juniper is my friend from college. She asked me to help you guys. So! I'll give you something to help you. This is a Hidden Machine for you!" Fennel handed Touko the Hidden Machine01 for Cut. Touko thanked the scientist.

"There are some moves that a Pokemon can use even when it is not fighting. With this Hidden Machine, you can teach your Pokemon a move called Cut. It can cut down a small tree. And you can use the Hidden Machine as many times as you want, like a TM. Isn't that great? But it's difficult to make a Pokemon forget a hidden move once it learns it. And I'd like to ask you a favor, too!" Touko watched as Fennel went to her desk and then back. "There is a place called the Dreamyard on the outskirts of Striaton City. I'd like some of the Dream Mist that a Pokemon there called Munna gives off. With that, I'll be able to perfect a device that I've been working on for trainers!" She said.

Touko agreed to go to the Dreamyard to get the Dream Mist, even though it was already dark. She passed by the Pokemon Center to heal Rior and Imi and after being warned by the nurse that curfew was at eleven, Touko immediately left.

As she made her way slowly towards the Dreamyard, she took out the HM01 and decided to teach it to Imi. She wondered how TMs and HMs worked, and remembered that one class she had in elementary where the teacher explained that there were some moves that Pokemon couldn't learn by themselves, and needed those 'machines' to learn them.

As she reached the Dreamyard, she found a tree she had seen earlier and decided to test out Imi's new move. She remembered that her teacher had also said that if Pokemon used other moves other than HMs on some objects, it could cause a natural catastrophe, like the woods being burnt if she used ember to get rid of a tree. Touko shuddered at the thought of the trees around her bursting into flames. Imi cut down the small tree and Touko smiled.

"Hi, Touko!" Touko turned around to see Bianca approaching her again. "Are you looking for the mysterious Pokemon, too?" She asked Touko. She ran ahead of Touko towards the ruins and Touko slowly followed.

"Mysterious Pokemon?" Touko questioned.

"Eh. I'm just wondering how the dream Pokemon does it." She simply said. As the two walked towards another gate, they heard a Pokemon crying. Bianca stopped suddenly. "Hey! Did you hear a sound coming from the other side of that wall? Come on! Let's go see!" Bianca said, and pushed Touko in front of her. Touko grinned as she realised that Bianca was clearly afraid to go in the ruins in the dark.

As Touko walked in, she saw a small floating pink Pokemon. Bianca followed right behind her and stepped beside Touko as she saw the Pokemon.

"Muuuun..." the pink Pokemon cried before floating away.

"Oh! Wait!" Bianca called out. Both Bianca and Touko ran to chase after the mysterious Pokemon. They stopped though when they saw two figures wearing medieval uniforms approaching the pink Pokemon as well.

"We found you, Munna!" One of them said, not noticing Touko or Bianca. The two took opposite sides from the Pokemon. "Come on! Come on! Make some Dream Mist!" the man continued, and the two began gang in on the Pokemon

"... Mu!" the Pokemon cried in despair. Munna turned back and forth, fear creeping into its eyes from the two figures.

"Huh?" Bianca said. "Who are you? What are you doing?" She shouted at the two, finally getting their attention.

"Are you talking about us? We're Team Plasma. We battle day and night to liberate Pokemon from foolish humans!" The man answered.

"What are we doing? The Pokemon Munna and Musharna emit a mysterious vapor called Dream Mist, which shows people's dreams. We're going to use that to make people want to release their Pokemon... We'll show them dreams to manipulate their hearts." The woman explained harshly. The man kicked the Pokemon and Munna cried.

"Mu... Naa..." it said weakly. The man growled in frustration.

"Come on! Spit out that Dream Mist!" the man shouted. Bianca frowned.

"You're kicking a Pokemon to make it give off Dream Mist? That's mean! Why? You're Trainers too, right?" Bianca tried to reason. The woman smirked.

"That's right. We're Pokemon Trainers too, but we're fighting for a different reason. Unlike you two, we're fighting for the freedom of Pokemon!" The woman shouted.

"And setting Pokemon free means that we win Pokemon battles and take Pokemon by force! So, on that note, we are going to rescue your Pokemon from you!" And the man's eyes turned towards Touko, who had been silent the whole time and ran in front of her.

"Whaaat! Don't hurt Touko!" Bianca shouted, as the man pushed her away. Touko's eyes turned towards Bianca to see if she was alright before turning back to the Plasma grunt.

"You don't hurt my friends." She whispered under her breath. The man chuckled. "Rior, Leer." Touko said calmly. Bianca looked at her friend in worry, but turned away confused as she saw her best friend's eyes filled with anger. She had never seen Touko this way before.

The man began to laugh as Rior leered at his Patrat, and he ordered his Patrat to bite Rior. Rior remembered the pain of a Patrat's bite again and gave a low growl. Touko remained calm though, her eyes fixiated on the grunt, and ordered Rior to use Leer again.

"Patrat, Bide!" The man ordered. Touko's impassive face finally broke as a menacing grin formed on her face. "What are you grinning at?" The man shouted.

"Rior. Leer." She calmly commanded, and the Pokemon did as his trainer said. The Patrat was pumped and ready to attack strong but Touko ordered Rior to use Leer for the fourth time, and the Bide failed. The man growled.

"Rior, use Tackle." Rior sped towards towards the Patrat and hit it with full force, sending it flying back in the grass, falling unconscious. The grin on Touko's face had vanished and was replaced by disgust.

"Plasmaaaa! Ahh, our beautiful dream..." The man told his companion. The woman rolled her eyes and pushed the man away.

"Were you not taking them seriously because they're kids? Well, whatever, I'm next!" The woman took a Poke Ball from her belt and sent out a Purrloin. Touko grimaced.

"Rior, Leer." She ordered him again. Rior knew that his trainer was angry, and complied with what she said. The female grunt ordered her Purrloin to use Scratch, and it successfully hit Rior on his tail.

The 'Leer' and 'Scratch' fight continued for a couple more minutes until Touko took a deep breath in. She closed her eyes, and when she exhaled, she opened her eyes and glared at the female grunt, who flinched from the girl's strong gaze.

"End this Rior. Tackle." Touko ordered, and Rior managed to hit the Purrloin until it fainted. Once the battle had ended, Rior ran towards Touko who caught him with open arms. Her eyes never left the grunts.

"Plasmaaaa! This is a nightmare!" The woman shouted at the man.

"... I can't believe we lost!" The man snapped at the woman. The woman glared at him. "But we have to obtain the Dream Mist!" He persisted. He walked to the Munna again and began kicking it again, much to Bianca's protests. "Come on! Make with the Dream Mist!" He shouted at the poor Pokemon.

"Knock it off!" Bianca screamed. Suddenly, a light flashed and the image of the frightening green-haired man appeared before them. The grunts turned in fright and Touko's eyes widened as she recognised the man as the representative from the other day.

"What are you two doing goofing off?" He snapped at them.

"We, Team Plasma, shall separate Pokemon from foolish people!" A second image of the man appeared behind them, and the grunts looked between the two men in confusion. Suddenly, both images disappeared, and one sole person appeared behind them.

"If you cannot fulfill your duties..." the man warned them. The man backed away from the Pokemon and the green-haired man and ran to his companion.

"T-this isn't... Ghetsis when he is gathering followers... or Ghetsis when he is trying to control people by tricking them with speeches!" The woman whispered to the other grunt.

"Yeah... This is Ghetsis when a plan has failed, and he is about to issue punishment..." the man answered the woman, fear appararent in his voice.

"At any rate, let's hurry and say we're sorry so he forgives us!" And in no time at all, the two grunts ran away.

When the two grunts were gone, a different Pokemon approached the two girls and the Munna. It went close to them slowly.

"Shaaar!" It cried as it went close to the Munna.

"... What was that just now?" Bianca asked Touko. "That person called Ghetsis appeared all over the place, and it wasn't real, right?" Suddenly Bianca crept closer to aTouko. "... Could it have been a dream?" She continued to ask Touko.

But Touko didn't answer her friend, and instead, turned back to the two creatures before them. "And that Pokemon..." Bianca turned her eyes as well to the Munna and the other Pokemon.

"Oh!" Bianca and Touko turned and saw Fennel rushing towards them. "I couldn't wait, so I came over!" Fennel took a deep breath in and out before finally noticing the Pokemon behind Bianca and Touko. "... Is that Musharna?" She cried out.

"Musha?" The Musharna asked the Munna.

"Munii!" The Munna cried out happily, and then the two were gone immediately.

"Did something happen?" Fennel asked the two girls.

"Oh, Fennel. Well, you see, Munna was here... But Team Plasma and Munna... And Musharna came... And it showed us something like a dream? And then, Team Plasma..." Bianca explained incoherently.

"I think I followed that... See, Musharna evolves from Munna. So, seeing Munna in trouble, it used its power - making dreams into reality - to save Munna. Which means... wait a second!" Fennel rushed behind the girls and jumped up and down as she noticed an object on the ground. "Is this Dream Mist? With this, I can complete my research! You two come to my house later, OK?" Fennel told them, and quickly left. Bianca turned to Touko.

"Phew. How random was that? Touko, why don't you go to Fennel's house?" Bianca suggested. Touko shook her head.

"And you?" She managed to say. Her throat seemed to hurt from not speaking for so long.

"Me? Well, I'm going to go look for the Pokemon we saw just now." Bianca told her. Touko smiled at her friend and nodded. At the gate however, she saw figures hovering in the shadows at some bushes, and the curious person she was, she went to see what it was.

Soon she found herself going up some broken stairs by the ruins. She walked through the platform and saw Bianca looking around in the bushes from above. She continued to walk on the platform until she saw another staircase, and this time, it led to an underground basement. How she'd get there however, she didn't know, and so she decided to put it aside for the moment.

When she didn't find the figures she had seen earlier, Touko decided that it was better if she made her way to Fennel's house before it got too late. Although Munna had been a Pokemon which interested her a lot, Bianca had wanted to catch it, and Touko didn't want to have one while her best friend didn't.

As she entered Striaton City again, and headed towards Fennel's house, she began to think back on the battle with the grunts. She couldn't understand what it was, but when she saw the way the Pokemon was treated and her best friend being pushed, something had snapped in her and she felt angry, very angry. The thought of herself being that way again frightened Touko, as the confidence and the way of battling reminded her of that tall boy...

"Ta-da!" Touko snapped out of her thoughts as Fennel spoke to her cheerfully. "Thanks to you, I got some Dream Mist, and now I can complete this device for trainers! Thank you very much!" Fennel began to shake Touko's hands up and down. "As a token of my appreciation, I will give you this C-Gear to use! The C-Gear is a device related to communications between trainers around the regions." Fennel explained. She walked towards another machine and returned and gave Touko a pink C-Gear.

Touko turned the device on and Fennel explained to her how it worked. The C-Gear was supposed to be some kind of communication device which was more advanced than the Xtransceiver, however it was very complex, and Touko reconsidered using it. Suddenly, a girl with whom Touko had spoken to previously approached them.

"Oh, Trainer! Thank you very much for helping Fennel! This is from me. Please take it. Don't be shy." The girl, whom Touko recognised as Amanita, the one in charge of the PC, gave her a Pal Pad.

When both Fennel and Amanita finished explaining the uses of the C-Gear and the Pal Pad, Touko told them goodnight and proceeded to go back to the Pokemon Center just before curfew. Her new devices were so high tech, that Touko knew that Cheren would have probably appreciated them more than she had.

As Touko changed out of her clothes and looked outside the window, she saw the distant flashing lights of the great city of Nimbasa. The lights were very far away, but because of the towering skyscrapers of the city, the lights could be seen even from Striaton. She turned to find that Rior and Imi were already asleep on the bed. Touko grinned, and crawled into the bed and fell into a deep dream.

* * *

**_In case you didn't notice, at the part with the Striaton brothers, I did add some speculation. Or whatever it's called. I find it an interesting idea, or theory, to say that those three are.. huh. We'll see. Also I noticed that so far, most of my chapters have 4000 more or less words. Maybe I should reduce it even further. Anything you'd like to suggest is welcome._**


	7. Conflicting Ideals

**_Alright! Since I won't be writing in a while, I decided to upload the next chapter. Oh yeah, next week I'm going to the Philippines to see relatives again after a while. I'm looking forward to it :D So yeah, like I said, updates will probably delay more than a slug reaching it's destination._**

* * *

Touko sat by the fountain watching Imi and Rior play. She had left the Center very early, like always, and once she got re-stocked, she left the city. On her way to Route 3, she had seen a little park, and decided that perhaps it would be good to stay there for a while.

As she packed her things up and both Rior and Imi dried from their water fight, she began to head towards the exit of the park. There was an old man by the park gate who asked her if she had a badge, and when she said she did, the man congratulated her and allowed her to go through.

Touko noticed buildings right at the beginning of Route 3, and as curious as she was, she walked up the stairs towards it. The first building she saw had a sign that read:

Pokemon Day Care: We Take Care of Your Precious Pokemon.

Touko grinned and headed towards a white fence where a boy stood watching. There were two Pokemon playing with each other, and the boy excitedly told her that the Day Care Couple sometimes let them play with the Pokemon.

When Touko entered the second building, she found herself in a brightly decorated room filled with children. She looked around before she a young woman approached her.

"Um-hmm. Your Pokemon... They're really energetic!" The woman said. Touko grinned. The woman explained that it was a school for younger children. The children were taught to battle, and Touko was more than surprised that they already had their own Pokemon and they battled as well. The woman showed her around the room and the playground.

At the playground, a teacher challenged her, and after defeating her Lillipup, Touko was told that the children there practiced battling. Touko accepted the eager children's challenges, but made sure that she didn't use her Pokemon's full power. She had, after all, just won a Badge.

Touko battled the preschoolers with Imi while Rior watched by his trainer's side. The last ones that wanted to battle Touko were two female twins. All the teachers and preschoolers watched as Kumi and Amy sent out two Purrloins. Being that it was a Double Battle, both Imi and Rior happily went to battle at the same time.

"Alright guys, don't be too harsh." Touko whispered to her Pokemon, and they nodded. "Let's start with Leer!" She ordered, and both Imi and Rior leered at the two Purrloins. The two Purrloins took a step back and looked back at their Trainers.

"Purri use Scratch!" Amy ordered.

"You too Rurri!" Kumi shouted.

The two Purrloins pounced on both Imi and Rior, scratching them at their backs. Imi gave a low growl of pain, having experienced a Purrloin's Scratch for the first time. Rior on the other hand, was more than used to it, and simply glared back at the purple Pokemon.

"Leer again guys!" Touko said, and the Pokemon leered at their foes. The twins looked in between each other in confusion before turning back towards the battle.

"Purri, Scratch!" Amy told her Purrloin.

"Rurri, use Growl!" Kumi commanded by her twin sister's side.

Purri scratched Rior on the back, while its sibling Rurri growled fiercely at Touko's Pokemon. Touko grinned.

"Good job Kumi and Amy! Alright guys, Imi use Water Gun on Purri and Rior use Vine Whip on Rurri!" Touko ordered. Imi and Rior ran towards the two Pokemon and hit them with their type attacks, leaving them fallen to the ground. To Touko's surprise however, both of the Purrloins were still standing.

"Go Purri! Now use Growl!" Amy shouted in excitement.

"Yoo too, Rurri! You too!" Kumi shouted as well.

"OK, then. Imi, use Water Gun on Rurri and Rior use Vine Whip on Purri!" Touko called out. "Be soft." She whispered before her two Pokemon proceeded to their attacks. Rior and Imi nodded and then headed straight towards the two Purrloins.

Imi shot a soft water wave at Rurri, who immediately fainted. Rior used his tail in order to trip Purri instead of whipping her and Purri fainted as well. The twins rushed to their fainted Pokemon.

"Come on, Pokemon! Get up! Go!" Kumi shouted at her Rurri.

"Oh, no! Our Pokemon burned out..." Amy said sadly.

The twins recalled their Pokemon and Touko approached them. She congratulated them on their victory and the twins laughed as both Rior and Imi hugged them. They ran to their teachers and friends and the teacher whom Touko had spoken to earlier thanked her for letting her Pokemon battle the preschoolers. She offered Touko a few minutes to rest at the school.

After about half an hour when Touko played with the children and taught them some things she knew about Pokemon, she decided it was time to leave. As she continued on her way through Route 3, she came across another fork at the road and had to decide to go straight or left. As she began to walk straight, she heard someone call her.

"Touko, stop!" Touko turned to see Cheren and grinned at him. "So... We both have a Trio Badge, so let's see which of us is stronger!" Cheren challenged her. Touko rolled her eyes and accepted the battle, and prepared for battle. Cheren called out Blaze first, and Touko grinned as she called out Imi for the first battle.

"Imi, use Leer." She told Imi, and Imi leered at Blaze. Blaze on the other hand, seemed unaffected, and shot an Ember towards Imi. The fire didn't affect Imi much and Touko's grin widened at the type disadvantage.

Touko ordered Imi to use Leer again and Cheren ordered Blaze to use Odor Sleuth. She continued with Leer again for two more rounds as Cheren commanded Blaze to use Defence Curl and Ember again.

"Alright Imi. Show Cheren how powerful your Water Gun is!" Touko exclaimed, and Imi grinned. She took a deep breath in and then shot a strong wave of water at Blaze. Cheren frowned.

"Ugh! You choose a good move, as usual." He told Touko. Touko winked at him and Cheren laughed and rolled his eyes. Touko told Imi to use Leer again and Blaze used Defense Curl. Touko's excitement wore down as she realised that as long as Blaze used Defense Curl, then Imi's Leer wouldn't have much of an effect.

"Imi, Water Gun again." She ordered. Although Touko hoped that Blaze would faint, he ate an Oran Berry last minute and stood back up. Both Imi and Blaze were tired and Touko sighed. "Seriously Cheren, what's with you and berries?" She asked him rhetorically. She ordered Imi to use Water Gun again, and this time Blaze faintly immediately as the water surrounded him.

Cheren frowned again and recalled his fainted Tepig. As he called out Pard, Touko tilted her head and decided to send out Rior. Rior was, after all, almost an expert at fighting against Purrloins.

"Rior, Vine Whip." Touko said calmly. The attack hit Pard on the head, and Pard growled. Cheren ordered his Purrloin to use Sand-Attack. Touko watched as the Purrloin began to scratch the ground before proceeding to throw the dust towards Rior, who coughed.

"Leer Rior." Touko ordered. Rior leered, but his eyes moved away as Pard attacked him with yet another Sand-Attack. Both Cheren and Touko could see the annoyed expressions on their Pokemon, and as they looked at each other, they shrugged.

"Use Vine Whip." As Rior ran towards Pard, he tripped and missed his aim and Pard smirked. He took the opportunity to get close to Rior and used Fury Swipes at him. Touko ordered him to use Vine Whip once again, and as Rior stood up, he didn't miss. It was Pard's turn to miss his attack, and Rior grinned.

"With my knowledge, I can bring out the strength of my Pokemon!" Cheren said with determination. Touko could see that the Purrloin was about to faint, so she ordered Rior to use Tackle. Rior though, was still affected by the dirt that got into his face, and once again, missed his attack.

"Pard, use Assist!" Cheren commanded, and Touko could hear in his voice the need to win the battle. Pard once again glowed before using the move Defence Curl. Touko was glad that Pard didn't use Ember, or she knew she'd be in trouble.

"Okay Rior, you know what to do." Touko said, and Rior nodded. He sped towards the panting Purrloin before hitting it with a Tackle, sending it falling back on the ground. She ran towards Rior and laughed. When she picked him up, she looked up at Cheren again.

Cheren recalled his unconscious Pokemon and then shook his head. Touko, wondering what was troubling her best friend, approached him. When she got close to him, he turned his head to look at her.

"Why do you keep beating me?" He asked her. Touko began to speak but he interrupted her. "We have the same number of Gym Badges. We should be equals in strength..." he continued to say. Touko exhaled and smiled at her friend.

"You shouldn't worry about it that much. You use statistics and facts to battle but I beat you because I allow my Pokemon to train and battle the way they like." Touko told her best friend calmly. Cheren seemed to relax and grinned at her.

"I see. So that's how you battle." He said, and they both laughed. As they began to walk together and spoke about what they had done the past day, they heard a voice shouting their way.

"Out of the way!" A man's voice shouted, and Touko and Cheren turned to see two people wearing medieval suits running fast. They pushed past Touko and Cheren and ran towards the straight path. Touko grimaced.

"What was that about?" Cheren asked in confusion.

"Team Plasma." Touko told him. Cheren turned his head to look at his best friend. Touko was staring intently at the road the grunts had taken and stared at her as he saw her eyes fill with anger.

"Touko?" He said silently. Before any of them could say anything, they saw another two figures approaching them. Cheren's eyes widened as he recognised their blonde best friend. "Bianca? Why are you running?" He asked her. Bianca and a small girl stopped by the duo. She put her hands to her knees before looking back up to her friends.

"Hey! Where were those people headed?" She asked quickly and seriously.

"That way, but..." Cheren pointed towards the way the grunts had run before turning back to Bianca. "Why are you running now?" He asked again. Bianca groaned.

"Oh, seriously! They run so fast!" She said, clearly frustrated. She put a finger on her temple and fixed her hand. The little girl turned to Bianca and began to pull on her dress.

"Miss... Oh... My Pokemon?" The little girl asked, ready to cry. Bianca took a deep breath in before bending down to reach the girl's height.

"It'll be OK. It'll be OK. Don't cry." She said, wiping the tears that were flowing down the little girl's eyes. Cheren cleared his throat and took a step closer.

"Bianca, really, why were you running?" He asked for the third time. As Touko turned to look at the girl, she recognised her as one of the preschoolers she hadn't battled from the school before. It had already been an hour or two since she was there. Bianca stood back up, disbelief in her face.

"You have to hear this! Those people stole this girl's Pokemon!" Bianca said in a hurry. Cheren stared at his friend before rolling his eyes.

"You should have spoken up sooner!" He exclaimed. He turned to Touko. "Touko, we're going to get that Pokemon back." He told her, and Touko nodded. "Bianca! Please stay by the girl's side." He said to Bianca, and Bianca held the little girl's hand. As Cheren began to run towards the road the grunts had taken, Touko turned towards the little girl.

"Hey, do you remember me?" She whispered to the girl. The girl looked up and nodded.

"Yeah... you... the powewful twainew..." the little girl mumbled. Touko bent down and smiled at her. She wiped some of the tears in the girl's eyes.

"I'll get your Pokemon back, I promise. Until then, promise me you won't cry no more?" She said. The girl stared into Touko's blue eyes for a minute before nodding. She wiped her eyes and then smiled. Touko stood back up and then looked at Bianca. Bianca nodded and Touko ran after Cheren.

Touko ran towards the path and soon found Cheren standing in front of a cave. She ran as fast as she can to his side by the entrance of the cave. Cheren panted and turned to Touko.

"They ran inside here!" He said in between breaths. "Touko, your Pokemon's HP is fine, and you're ready to go, right?" He asked her, and Touko nodded. "Then let's go." He said, and entered the cave. Touko followed right behind him.

"Touko!" Cheren called, and Touko ran to his side as he faced two grunts. "This bothersome bunch doesn't really listen to reason." Cheren told her.

"I know." Was the only thing Touko said. She walked to his side and turned to face the two grunts. She eyed them carefully, and she knew that they weren't the same ones she came across at the Dreamyard.

"That child cannot use a Pokemon to its full potential." The grunt began. "Doesn't that make the Pokemon sad?" He continued. "It's the same thing for all your Pokemon, so hand them over to us now!" The grunt commanded.

"Better yet... We'll just take them!" The other grunt said. Cheren and Touko took steps back and called out their Pokemon. They stared at each other and nodded, and each battled one of the grunts. Touko turned towards the male grunt who had sent out a Patrat.

"Imi, use Leer!" Touko commanded. She watched from her side as Cheren ordered Blaze to use Ember. When she turned towards Imi and the Patrat again, the Patrat was leering at her Pokemon. She ordered Imi to use Leer again, and this time the Patrat attacked her with Bite. Imi flinched from the pain and fell down.

Touko watched in worry as Imi struggled to get back up. She gritted her teeth. Imi had been tired from the battle before, and so Touko took a Potion from her bag and sprayed it on Imi. The Patrat used Detect, and Touko rolled her eyes.

"Imi, Water Gun!" Touko called out. Imi hit the Patrat, but he still stood. Touko ordered Imi to use Cut, and the Patrat finally fell to his defeat. The grunt recalled his Pokemon.

"Whoa, whoa, come on now!" He whined. "I'm shocked to lose against a little kid!" Touko turned to see that Cheren had also managed to defeat the other grunt.

"Wha...? How could we lose when we have right on our side?" The other grunt exclaimed. Cheren ran to Touko and smiled at her.

"Not bad, Touko." He said, and Touko grinned. "OK, go return the Pokemon to that girl." Cheren told the grunts.

"You don't need to return it!" A voice boomed from deeper in the cave. All eyes turned as another two grunts approached Cheren and Touko. The defeated grunts moved to the side and Touko frowned. "How troublesome. Not only do you fail to understand, but you actually got in our way, to boot." The grunt continued.

"There's two of you and two of us. We'll show you our combined power and teach you that we are right!" the other grunt said.

"So, there were more of them..." Cheren muttered. "Still, why are Pokemon robbers acting so self-righteous?" He asked out loud, causing then grunts' eyes to widen. "Touko! We've been friends our whole lives. We've got each other's back when it counts. Let's show them how it's done!" Cheren told Touko, and Touko nodded.

The two Plasma grunts called out Patrats, and Touko and Cheren called Imi and Blaze to battle.

"Imi, use Leer!" Touko commanded. She turned to Cheren and her best friend nodded. He ordered Blaze to use Ember, and managed to hit one of the Patrats.

"Patrat, use Leer too!" one of the grunts ordered. The Patrat leered at Touko and Cheren's Pokemon while the other took the opportunity to bite Blaze. Cheren turned his head rapidly towards Touko.

"Listen Touko... I have a plan." He went closer to her and began to whisper in her ear. Touko nodded, and when Cheren finished, they both looked at each other and then grinned. The grunts were looking at the pair, wondering what they were talking about.

Touko and Cheren turned towards the fight again. Touko ordered Imi to use Leer again and Cheren ordered Blaze to use Tail Whip. Imi went closer to the Patrats and leered at them while Blaze ran behind them and began to whip them with his tail.

The two Patrats attacked Imi and Blaze with a Leer and a Bite. Imi looked at Blaze in worry as he fell from the bite, but grinned when he ate an Oran Berry and stood back up.

Imi shot a Water Gun at one of the Pokemon while Blaze whipped them with his tail again. The Patrats, eyes getting angrier by the minute, both turned towards Imi and before Cheren or Touko could react, the both bit her at the same time.

Imi let out a cry of pain from the bitemarks, and without a second thought, Touko recalled Imi and sent out Rior in the battle. Rior looked at Blaze for a minute before the two nodded and faced the two foes.

Rior attacked the weaker Patrat with a Vine Whip, thus making it faint. Blaze, who was tired from the constant bites, attacked the Patrat. But the Patrat still stood and managed to bite Rior. Rior growled and both he and Blaze combined their Vine Whip and Ember in order to hit the Patrat. The grunt's Patrat immediately fainted.

"Plasmaaaa! ... What? Did we lose?" One of the grunts said.

"I cannot believe that Team Plasma lost to such kids!" The other grunt said in disbelief. He stood up straight though and looked at the two teenagers. "In order to liberate Pokemon from foolish people, we will take their Pokemon!" He declared.

"Whatever... What a waste of time." Cheren said in a bored tone, and Touko shook her head up and down in agreement. "Come on, what reason could possibly justify stealing Pokemon from people?" Cheren asked them.

"Pokemon Trainers like you are making Pokemon suffer..." the other grunt said. Touko flinched, his words reminding her of the green-haired teen. She shook her head.

"What do you mean, Trainers are making Pokemon suffer? I don't get that at all!" Cheren shouted at them. The two grunts that were defeated before approached Cheren and Touko.

"We'll give you back the Pokemon..." he said silently and threw the Poke Ball to Touko. "But be aware of how this Pokemon suffers from being used by people. Someday, open your eyes to your own complicity." The grunt said. He nodded to the other three and soon they were out of the cave. Cheren and Touko looked back at the grunts as they left.

"Trainers bring out their Pokemon's strength. Pokemon believe in their Traiaaners and respond to that. I don't understand what about that makes Pokemon suffer!" Cheren continued. Touko turned her head and saw that her friend was clearly frustrated. He moved his eyes to meet her blue ones and then sighed.

"OK, Touko, Iet's return the Pokemon." He said, and Touko nodded.

When Cheren and Touko got back to where Bianca and the little girl were waiting, Touko handed the little girl the Poke Ball.

"Touko, thank you so much! The two of you got her Pokemon back! I'm lucky to have friends like you two!" Bianca exclaimed. The little girl hugged Touko.

"Thank you, miss! Please take these as a thank-you pwesent." And the little girl gave Touko and Cheren Heal Balls. The two teens thanked her.

"Ooh! Those are Heal Balls! They completely heal the captured Pokemon on the spot! How sweet of you!" She told the girl, and the little girl giggled. Bianca turned to Touko and Cheren again again and gave her a smile. "I'm going to see this girl on her way, so see you later, Touko. Cheren. Bye-bye!" Bianca said, and she and the little girl rushed back towards the school.

As soon as they were gone, Touko looked back towards the road that led to the cave. She checked her map and found out that it was called Wellspring Cave and Touko knew that she'd return to the cave at another time. This time, she turned towards the other road that Route 3 was split into and began to walk alongside Cheren.

Walking down Route 3 by the white fences, Touko and Cheren took the opportunity to talk about what they had been doing and whom they had met. As they turned, Touko began to run towards a field with tall grass. Cheren's eyes widened and he grabbed her arm just before she went in the tall grass.

"Touko, stop!" He told her. Touko turned to him in confusion. He let go of her arm and pointed towards the tall grass. "That dark tall grass over there... Every now and again, two Pokemon will pop out at the same time and attack you." He explained. "In other words, you have to be careful in the darker grass." He said to Touko. Touko smiled weakly.

"I'm heading on to Nacrene City." Cheren announced. He bid Touko farewell before walking away. Touko sighed. She was alone again.

Intrigued by the tall grass, despite Cheren's warnings, she walked in. After walking aimlessly at the grass, she found herself, to her horror, facing two very angry Pokemon. The Patrat's red eyes glared at her and the Blitzle was ready to attack. She called out Imi and Rior and began to fight them.

When Touko defeated the two Pokemon, she immediately left the tall grass and headed towards the road again. She looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was setting. Rior and Imi were tired too, so she decided to camp out by a small lake. She got out food for her and her Pokemon, and as they sat eating, Touko laughed as Rior and Imi fought over a berry.


	8. Nacrene City

_**I'm all ready and packed up for leaving soon! Ah, vacation. School's been so stressing this year! Anyhow, in reply to some reviews I didn't get to answer ~**_

_**LittleKrus : About the battles, well, haha that's actually the one thing I don't really know how to do. I have NO idea what so ever how a battle should be written, so I just basically write down what's actually happening in the game xD I actually haven't seen the anime in a while, so I suppose it should be a good idea to catch up on it this summer, to get to know stuff better, thanks!**_

_**Guest : lol guest. thanks though, that's actually pretty relieving! I hope I do better :P**_

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It was already noon by the time Touko reached Nacrene City the next day. During the rest of Route 3, she had battled trainers and wild Pokemon with Imi. Rior did not seem to mind that his trainer wasn't battling with him, and Imi had certainly been more than eager to battle. Touko had only come across Pidoves, Blitzels, and Patrats on the road, and deciding against catching any of them.

Like at the exit of Accumula Town, the entrance to Nacrene City also had a gate with an electronic bulletin board. At the gate, Touko had called her mother to inform her that she was alright. When Touko first saw the city, she was surprised as she saw rows and rows of what looked like old buildings or storehouses. As she continued walking, she saw Cheren.

"Hey, come with me a sec." Cheren told her. Touko followed him as he stopped by another building. "If you go straight from here, there's a Pokemon Center." He explained. "And... Use these if you want." He said, and shyly gave Touko a few Chesto Berries.

"Give your Pokemon a Chesto Berry to hold. Then, if it ever falls asleep, it will wake up immediately." Cheren explained. "Oh, and another piece of advice - Nacrene City's Gym Leader uses Normal types. If you have a Fighting-type Pokemon, it might give you a big advantage." He said. Touko thanked him and watched him leave almost immediately, looking flushed.

Touko went to the Center and restocked on her items. She didn't get a key for a room as she assumed she'd leave the city at the same day. As she walked out of the center, she decided to tour the city before going to the Nacrene City Gym.

During her tour, she had received a Miracle Seed from a nice girl. Touko put the seed unto a small tie in order to tie it around Rior's neck. She also came across a small cafeteria and rested there for a while. There she learned of the Striaton brothers' tea and also of a small area just outside the city called challenge rock where trainers could train.

As she made her way out of the cafeteria, Touko decided that she'd visit the area she'd heard about in order to train. When she got out of the city, she found herself trying to decide whether to take the road to Pinwheel Forest or to another area. She decided to go to the other area, afraid that if she entered the forest she'd immediately get lost.

The first person Touko challenged was a nurse who offered to heal her Pokemon after she was defeated. The nurse decided to travel with Touko during her quest to challenge rock. As Touko was challenged from trainer to trainer and wild Pokemon, she and Nurse Shery spoke and got to know each other better.

When Touko finished battling, Shery would heal both her and the challenger's Pokemon. Like before she reached Nacrene City, Rior didn't battle as much as Imi did. For a while, Touko worried whether Rior was getting lazy, but Shery explained that it was because on her first two days of her journey, he had battled many trainers.

"I think I won't ever catch a Tympole." Touko told Shery after having to battle Tympoles one after the other. Shery laughed. They reached a staircase, and Shery told Touko that from there on, Touko would have to battle by herself. Touko thanked Shery and waved goodbye.

Once Touko reached the top of the stairs, the first person that challenged her was a girl wearing battle clothes called Lee. Lee called out a Timburr, and Touko called out Imi.

"Imi, use Water Gun!" Touko called. Imi shot a powerful blow of water at the Timburr making him almost drop the log of wood he was holding. When he stood up, he sneered at Imi.

"Timburr, Rock Throw!" Lee ordered. Timburr rushed to a pile of rocks next to him and began to throw a rock at Imi. Imi got hurt but managed to stand up.

The two Pokemon continued the 'Water Gun' and 'Rock Throw' battle until Imi shot one final blow of water at the Timburr which caused him to faint. Lee recalled her Pokemon and advised Touko to test the challenge rock with a Fighting-type Pokemon.

The second person that challenged Touko was a boy dressed in karate outfit named Kentaro. He called out a Timburr as well, and Touko grinned. Imi immediately took position in front of the Fighting-type and began to throw blows of water after another.

Kentaro's Timburr was much stronger than how Lee's had been. Touko had a hard time trying to keep up with the battle as Timburr threw one rock after the other. Touko used one Super Potion after the other, trying her best to encourage Imi to fight back. After one final cut, Imi managed to hit the Timburr hard enough to make it faint.

After being defeated, Kentaro showed Touko the challenge rock. He told her that if one of her Pokemon, and it could only be a fighting type, could smash it, one piece would fall of and she would get something valuable. He left her to continue training and Touko looked at her two Pokemon again. Before Touko continued to search for a Fighting-type Pokemon, she taught Imi the move Rock Smash with a TM that a girl had given her previously.

She looked around the area and eventually caught a Sawk. Touko named her Sawk 'Saw', because she knew that the Pokemon did not evolve and its name was too short for her to name it anything else. Touko went back to the challenge rock, and after ordering Saw to smash it, a Star Piece broke out of it and Touko got it.

Touko made her way back to Nacrene City in order to challenge the Gym Leader. She had spent over two hours training and after catching Saw, she believed that she was finally ready to battle. As she approached the Gym, which she had found out later was the one where the museum was, she felt Rior stiffen at her shoulder.

When Touko turned to see what it was that made Rior stiffen, she too froze. From inside the museum, the same green-haired boy she had met three days ago walked out. N noticed her and walked towards her. They stared at each other for a few minutes, none of them saying anything until N breathed in.

"I... want to see things no one can see." His voice sounded melodic in Touko's ears, much to her dismay. "The ideals of Pokemon inside Poke Balls. The truths of how Trainers should be. And a future where Pokemon have become perfect... Do you feel the same?" He asked her. Touko didn't answer and simply continued to stare into his eyes. She replayed his words again, but somehow, she subconsciously nodded. N grinned, for the first time since she'd met him.

"That so?" He asked her. "I think my friends and I should test you to see if you can see this future, too." He said, and called out a Pidove. Touko snapped out of her trance and was about to call out Imi when Rior stepped in. She looked at Rior and saw his eyes fixiated on N and he stared back at her. It was as if Rior was trying to tell her that N was his, and only his, challenge to fight. Touko nodded.

"Rior, Wrap!" Touko ordered. Rior rushed to the Pidove and wrapped him with his tail. The Pidove tried to get away but failed and gave a low cry.

"Growl." N simply said, and the Pidove growled fiercly at Rior. But Rior did not let go. Touko looked at N only to find that he was staring straight at her, as if trying to figure out something. She frowned and immediately looked away.

"Rior, let's use that new move we learned today. Leaf Tornado!" She called out. Leaves began to surround Rior and he glared at Pidove, the tornado of leaves hitting the Pokemon with full force. But the Pidove smirked and counter-attacked Rior with Gust. Touko realised that grass-types were not effective against flying-types.

"OK Rior, use Tackle!" Rior hit the Pidove with as much power he had, but the Pidove looked back at the Pokemon and attacked with yet another gust. Touko gritted her teeth. N and his Pokemon were starting to frustrate her.

"Rior, use Leaf Tornado again!" Touko shouted. Once again, sharp leaves gathered around Rior, and he shot them all straight towards Pidove. As if in reply to Touko's prayers, the Pidove fainted before it managed to shoot another Gust at Rior.

As N recalled the fainted Pidove and sent out a Tympole, Rior began to glow. Touko's eyes widened as Rior's shape began to alter. He grew taller, became more slender, his tail was longer and his eyes burned with determination. Rior had evolved.

"Rior... evolved? A-amazing! OK, Rior! Use Leaf Tornado!" Touko called out. Rior turned his eyes towards the small Tympole and he smirked. A strong wind emerged as sharp green leaves began to surround him. He made a turn and all the leaves shot at Tympole with amazing strength, something Touko had never seen Rior do before. Tympole fainted immediately.

During the whole match, N had said nothing. He had been staring at Touko and her newly evolved Pokemon and was thinking. He recalled Tympole and sent out his third and last Pokemon, a Timburr. N watched Touko carefully as she calmly ordered Rior to use Leaf Tornado again. Orders went out of his mouth, but the Servine was far stronger than his weak Timburr. The Timburr fainted after the Servine tackled it.

After Rior defeated all three of N's Pokemon single handed, Touko watched as N began to walk towards her. The awakened Timburr followed his trainer weakly from behind, and Touko couldn't help but feel sorry for it. N stood about a meter away from her before he began to speak again.

"I cannot see the future yet... The world is still to be determined..." he said silently. He looked up at the sky and then back at Touko. "Right now, my friends aren't strong enough to save all Pokemon. Maybe I can't solve the equation that will change the world." He explained to her. "So, I need power... Power enough to make anyone agree with me." He said.

N stared into Touko's blue eyes for another minute before turning. He recalled the exhausted Timburr and walked towards the city's exit. He stopped and Touko heard his last words before he vanished in the crowd.

"Now I know what power I need. Zekrom! The legendary Pokemon that, along with the hero, created the Unova region. It's my turn to become that hero - and you and I will be friends!" He said with fierce determination. Touko watched his figure disappear and wondered what the meaning behind his words were.

She turned towards the entrance of the museum again and remembered the initial reason as to why she had gone there. She entered the museum, ready to face the Gym Leader Lenora and gain her second badge. N's words vanished in her mind as she entered the museum and saw the large skeleton of a prehistoric creature.

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_**Like I mentioned, I spent a lot of wasted time following the game. **_**Literally._ So, I probably won't be editing this story, except the length of the chapters, until I finish it. 'Cause right now, that's my primary goal, to actually finish it xD Oh and the battles. Yeah, sometimes I get really bored so I cut them really short. Or I order my Pokemon to use the same moves and ^that happens xD_**


	9. Thieves

**_I should stop this habit of mine. But I really don't know _when_ I'll be able to post again, so here's another chapter. Patience is a virtue, btw. So have patience at how slow things are progressing xD_**

**_Oh, and one more thing. About the previous chapter. Things get repetitive don't they? :P Sorry, I tend to be repetitive, so some things might be the same as what has happened before._**

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A man wearing a lab coat stood in front of the gigantic skeleton. He was staring at the creature in awe.

"Wow! Whenever I look at this skeleton, I'm... fascinated." Touko heard him say. The man turned to leave when he spotted Touko and approached her with a big smile.

"Welcome! I'm Hawes, the assistant director." He introduced himself. "Since you were kind enough to visit, I'll give you a tour of the museum." He said. Touko followed him as he began to walk around. The first place they went was in front of the large skeleton.

"This skeleton is of a Dragon-type Pokemon." He explained. "There's a theory that it had an accident while it was flying around the world, and so it became a Fossil." Touko looked at the bones of the used-to-be Pokemon and felt sorry for it. Hawes moved on.

"This rock is amazing! It's a meteorite! It contains some kind of energy from space." Touko looked at the weird shaped rock. It was dark and had holes in it. She wasn't fascinated. Hawes moved on but a light white stone caught Touko's eyes.

"Oh, this? It's an ordinary old stone." Hawes explained. "It was found near the desert, but other than the fact that it's old, it doesn't seem to have any value... We only display it because it's rather pretty to look at." He said, and chuckled. He began to walk up some stairs.

Touko, however, still had her eyes on the rusty white rock. She looked at it in admiration. She didn't know what it was, but the mere attraction towards it reminded her to visit the desert as soon as she could. She turned her head and rushed towards where Hawes was waiting.

"The Pokemon Gym is just beyond here." He pointed. "At the end of the Gym, a very strong and kind Gym Leader is waiting." Then a grin formed on his face. "By the way, the Gym Leader Lenora happens to be my wife!" He told Touko excitedly, and Touko looked at him in surprise.

As Touko entered the next room, she was surprised yet again as she saw Clyde standing by the door. Clyde approached her and began to explain.

"A Pokemon Gym where a Leader waits for a challenger at the back of a museum... It has a great atmosphere, doesn't it? So... I will give this to you!" And like the first time they met, Clyde gave her a bottle of water. Clyde continued. "All Trainers in this Gym use Normal-type Pokemon. This is just between you and me... Normal-type Pokemon are weak against Fighting-type Pokemon. Around here, Fighting-type Pokemon show up around Pinwheel Forest." He told Touko silently. Then he straightened his back.

"Now, I will explain about the Gym itself! In this Pokemon Gym, if you answer questions hidden in books, you can move forward. For your information, the first book is 'Nice to Meet You, Pokemon.' If you don't know where the book is, please ask anyone!" He explained, then allowed Touko to begin her search.

Touko found herself once again, not only looking for books, but battling the Gym trainers. Touko was determined to have Saw as the primary battler in the Gym. He was after all, a Fighting-type, and if she used his moves properly, she could easily win.

After defeating the small boy, the boy told her that the first book could be found at the bookshelf closer to the entrance. Touko approached the nearest bookshelf to the left and climbed up the small ladder. She looked for the book, and when she found it, she began to read.

The children's book was about a little boy who met a Pokemon for the first time in his life. He had a small brown Pokemon with him... and as Touko continued to read through the pages, she found a memo. The memo read:

'Pokemon Trainers! I am the Gym Leader, Lenora! I hid four memos in this library. Each of them has a question. Can you solve the questions and come find me? Now, this is the first question. Q: What is the first Pokemon you met in this Gym?" The hint is... on a bookshelf in the middle row! Now, try to find it!'

Touko read the memo one more time before climbing down the ladder. She knew that the answer was 'Patrat' but her problem was how she'd find the 'bookshelf in the middle row'. The library was enormous, and there were bookshelves everywhere.

Touko walked in between the bookshelves and soon found another ladder by a bookshelf. She looked around her and assumed that she had found the same place written on the memo. She looked through the books and found one named 'The Biology of Patrat' and grinned. She opened it and began to read.

The Pokemon book described the biology of Patrat and how they communicated with others. Patrat communicate by moving their tails and a Patrat raised its tail when it sees an enemy. As Touko turned the pages, she found another memo on the back cover. The memo read:

'As I thought, that question was easy. Well, this is the second question! Q: Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs... What is this book? The hint is... Somebody may be reading it."

Touko climbed down the stairs and began to walk around again, becoming dizzy by the minute from all the bookshelves. She had no idea what the book mentioned, and she focused on finding someone who might be reading a book. As she walked further behind the room, she soon found a girl by a bookshelf. Touko walked towards her, in hope that she'd be the one with the book she needed.

"Excuse me? Are you perhaps reading... a book?" Touko asked. The girl looked up.

"... Hmhm. I see. Oh! Did you find the memo and come here to look for this book? What does the memo say?" Touko told the girl what she had said, and the girl nodded. "I'm reading a book called 'The Structure of a Locomotive.' Is this book the correct answer?" The girl asked.

Touko thought about it for a minute. A locomotive was a machine that burned coal and when it ran it gave out steam... Touko immediately nodded her head. The girl grinned.

"Oh! That is correct! 'Flame burns inside its body, and it gives off smoke from its head while it runs.' That's exactly how a locomotive looks! Well, I'll let you read this book. But before that..." the girl looked at Touko expectantly. "It would be great for my research if we had a Pokemon battle." The girl said. Touko accepted the challenge in order to thank the girl for her help.

Touko's Saw defeated the scientist's Herdier in three turns. Once defeated, the girl handed Touko the book on locomotives. Touko began to read.

Touko read the first few pages before turning to the back cover. She grinned as she found yet another memo. The memo read:

'It's impressive you found this place! That's what I'd expect from a challenger like you! Well, this is the third question! Q: If you heat it up in a pot, it'll be delicious. What is this? The hint is on a bookshelf closer to the entrance than here!'

As Touko walked towards the bookshelf near the entrance, she began to think of the answer. She remembered watching a show with Bianca which talked about the contests that occurred in Sinnoh. Apparently, trainers could make something called 'Poffins' and give them to their Pokemon. Touko climbed the ladder of the bookshelf she had ignored before and thought of whether it was 'Poffins' or not.

She looked for a book and finally found one called 'Sweets for Pokemon.' She pulled it out and began to read.

The book described sweets that were made by heating Berries in a pot. The sweets were called Poffins, Touko grinned, which were made in Sinnoh and Pokemon loved them. As Touko flipped the pages, she found a memo on the cover. The memo read:

'Did you manage to get here without being tricked by the questions? Now, this is the last question! Q: From this bookshelf... Move two backward, move one to the left, move two forward, move one to the right, and move one backward... Now, where is it? The hint is... Find it by yourself!'

Touko read the memo three more times and walked down the ladder. Once she reached the floor again, she looked around. She followed the steps that the memo said. Touko took two steps backward, one to the left, two forward, one to the right, and one backward. She found herself by the same bookshelf again, and after searching for something, anything, and finding nothing, she tried again.

Touko tried the sequence four times before eventually giving up. She walked around the library again and spotted a girl. Touko decided she would waste less time if she asked the girl. As Touko began to speak, the girl turned around.

"... I'm wondering, did you see the last memo and come to me?" Touko smiled weakly. "OK. I'll give you the last question! Can you challenge the Gym Leader if you win against me?" The girl asked. Touko didn't hesitate to think of it and nodded. The girl giggled. "Tee hee! That is correct! Well, here we go, Trainer!" And the girl called out a Lillipup.

The battle against the girl's three Lillipups ended quickly as Saw used Double Kick to knock them out. Once the girl recalled her last Lillipup, she turned to Touko.

"You'll meet the Gym Leader soon. This is the last book. Now! Read the last book!" And the girl handed Touko a book called 'The Biology of Tepig'. Touko began to read.

The book described the biology of Tepig and the way flame burned inside its body while it is able to give off flames from its nostrils. When Tepigs are not well then the only thing it can give off would be smoke. Touko turned the pages and found another memo. The memo read:

'You've managed to get here. Well done! You seem to have wisdom as well as strength. I look forward to our battle! Gym Leader Lenora'

Touko looked under the book and found a switch. She pressed it and the bookshelf began to move to the side. She went down the ladder to see a set of stairs that were hidden under the bookshelf. Touko ran down the stairs in excitement, wondering who this fascinating Gym Leader was.

At the bottom of the stairs, Touko found herself in another room which was brightly lit. At the back of the room was a lady who walked towards Touko.

"Welcome! The director of the Nacrene Museum and the Nacrene Gym's Leader is me! Lenora! Well then, challenger, I'm going to research how you battle with the Pokemon you've so lovingly raised!" And without another word, Lenora called out her first Pokemon, a Herdier.

"Alright Saw, let's see how strong your Double Kick can be!" Touko shouted. Saw ran towards the Herdier and kicked it twice, leaving the Herdier badly injured. This however, did not seem to affect Lenora in any way and instead ordered Herdier to use Leer.

"Now, with that move, I'm starting to see what kind of Trainer you are!" Lenora told Touko. Touko blushed, because in reality, she was actually in a hurry to end the match.

"Saw, Double Kick again!" Saw kicked the Herdier twice before the Normal-type Pokemon fainted. Lenora sent out her next Pokemon, a Watchog. She laughed.

"No matter how grim the situation, I'll use my research skills to find a winning strategy!" Lenora said. Touko grinned. "Alright Watchog, use Hypnosis!" Before Touko realised what was happening, her Sawk was put to sleep. Touko then remembered the Berries Cheren had given her, and lightly groaned for not remembering to give one to her Pokemon.

Saw remained asleep while Watchog leered at him. As Saw continued fast asleep, Watchog used the move Retaliate and Saw was out at once. Touko recalled Saw with bitterness, having experienced for the first time her Pokemon fainting. She called out Imi.

"Alright Imi, use Leer!" As Imi began to leer, Lenora's Watchog approached her and leered at her first, its speed being faster than any of the previous Pokemon Touko had battled.

"Watchog, use Retaliate." Lenora said calmly. Once again, the Normal-type Pokemon attacked Imi with full force, and Imi immediately fell unconscious. Touko's eyes widened. She called back Imi and sent out Rior. Rior stared at Watchog.

"Rior, use Leaf Tornado NOW!" Touko commanded angrily. Rior hit Watchog with his speed but only managed to give him a few scratches. Watchog aimed to hit Rior as well, but to Touko's relief, Rior's speed was a match to Lenora's strongest Pokemon.

Rior continued to hit Watchog with Leaf Tornado while Watchog tried aimlessly to hypnotise the Grass-type. Rior followed by wrapping the Watchog with ease, and Lenora's Pokemon failed once again to land one attack. Touko looked towards Lenora to see that she was getting impatient. She grinned. Rior being her first Pokemon was also her best fighter.

As Rior hit Watchog with another Leaf Tornado, Touko was in high hopes that the battle would then end. However, Lenora used a Super Potion which caused Touko to frown. She sighed. After using another Leaf Tornado, Watchog finally managed to use the move Retaliate on Rior. Touko sighed in relief as Rior stood back up and glared at the foe.

"Good job Rior! Wrap Watchog tighter and continue avoiding her attacks!" Touko commanded. Rior did as his trainer told him and grinned when Watchog failed to attack Rior again. Touko smiled, now happy that Rior's speed far surpassed that of Lenora's Watchog.

Although Watchog managed to escape Rior's Wrap, Rior attacked it with one final Leaf Tornado, and the Watchog immediately fainted. Touko punched the air with her fist and ran towards Rior, holding him up in victory. Lenora recalled Watchog and laughed.

"My theory about you was correct." Lenora told her, and Touko turned. "You're more than just talented... You're motivated! I salute you!" Touko grinned and thanked the Gym Leader.

"Actually, this was one of my toughest battles yet. Thank you very much, Ms. Lenora." Touko said. Lenora smiled and walked to stand close to Touko.

"Your fighting style is so enchanting. It is charming. You are a Pokemon Trainer worthy of receiving this Basic Badge!" Lenora handed Touko a small golden badge with carved purple stones in the middle. Touko smiled, brought out her badge case and put it in the second slot.

"If you have two Badges, traded Pokemon up to Lv. 30 will obey you. Here, I also want you to have this TM." Lenora handed Touko the TM67 for Retaliate and Touko grinned. She would definitely use this move someday in the future.

"Retaliate does a lot more damage if an ally fainted the turn before you use it! If you master the timing, you can defeat even strong opponents." Lenora explained. Touko thanked her and the two laughed as they slowly made their way towards the stairs.

"Deeear!" Both Lenora and Touko turned towards the voice. Hawes ran down the stairs towards Lenora and looked at her while panting. "Dear! Come quickly! Team Plasma is threatening to steal some bones!" At the mention of Team Plasma, Touko immediately froze. Lenora noticed this and then turned to her husband.

"What? What's going on?" She asked Hawes. She began to run up and turned towards Touko. "Touko! You come, too!" Touko nodded and followed right behind the husband and wife.

When Touko reached the entrance of the museum, she saw Lenora and Hawes standing side by side talking to a large group of grunts. Lenora was shouting.

"Now, you wait! Enough fooling around!" Lenora shouted. Touko took a deep breath in and ran to Lenora's side. One of the grunts at the front smirked.

"So you've come, Gym Leader. We, Team Plasma, claim this museum's Dragon Skull in the name of Pokemon liberation!" The grunt said. Touko glared at him.

"To show you we're serious, we'll steal it right before your eyes." The grunt next to him said. They turned around and spoke to the other grunts.

"Well, then, here's our smoke screen!" The first grunt said. The Plasma grunts cried out their group's name and soon the hall filled with dust. Touko coughed and tried to see what had happened, but the smoke screen had been too strong. When the smoke wore off, Lenora looked around.

"What's going on?" She asked in disbelief. She immediately ran out.

"Oh! Oh! We have to go after them!" Hawes said. Touko turned to see whether the man was running after his wife, but instead, he was standing looking at the now beheaded skeleton. Touko gritted her teeth and ran towards the entrance after Lenora.

Lenora was standing on the street looking around and Touko ran towards her. As she approached Lenora, a man walked to her and Touko stopped.

"Good day, Lenora. Find any good Fossils lately?" The man asked Lenora happily. Lenora turned to the man with wide eyes.

"This is a surprise visit! Are you suffering from artist's block again?" Lenora asked the man. The man grinned. Lenora turned around towards the museum and spotted Touko. "Touko!" Touko approached the two adults. "This is Burgh. He may not look like it, but he's Castelia City's Gym Leader!" Touko looked from Lenora to Burgh surprised. Lenora nodded.

"... Eh? Just looking for a change of pace." Burgh said, still on Lenora's question from before. "Seems hectic or something around here. What's up?" He finally asked Lenora. Lenora looked at him dumbfounded.

"What's up? Someone just walked away with an exhibit, that's what's up!" Lenora said angrily." Before Burgh could answer, Touko turned around as someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Oh, hi, Touko! What's everybody doing here?" Bianca asked her. Touko turned around and before she could answer, she saw Cheren approaching the group.

"Touko, is there some kind of problem?" He asked her. Touko wanted to explain but was at loss of words. Team Plasma was the only thing in her mind and she was angry.

"And these two are...?" Touko turned towards Lenora. "Your friends?" She asked, and Touko nodded.

"Ms. Lenora, they are my best friends, Bianca and Cheren." Touko answered. Lenora nodded.

"Bianca and Cheren... Oh, I see. They're Trainers. OK, then. Let's split up and search. I'll head this way." Lenora said, and began to head east before turning back. "Everyone!" She called out, getting everyone's attention. "Cheren and Bianca, I want you to stay here at the museum." She told the two teenagers. She then turned towards Burgh and Touko. "Burgh and Touko, you two search Pinwheel Forest! Got it? Burgh, you show the way!" Lenora turned around again and began to head off. "I'm counting on you, everyone!" And then she was gone.

Touko and her two friends stood staring at Lenora rushing off as Burgh approached Touko. She turned around as he began to speak to her.

"Uh-huh. You are... Touko, is it?" He asked, and Touko nodded. "Are you raring to round up our robbers?" He said, and Touko nodded. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you." And he left towards the exit of the city. Touko turned towards her friends.

"Oh! Oh, Touko! Take this with you! Fennel gave me this Dowsing Machine to give you." Bianca handed Touko the machine and Touko thanked her. "Now, what did she tell me? Um... You can use the Dowsing Machine to find places where items are hidden. So you can find stuff you can't even see!" She explained. Cheren turned to look at the museum.

"For now, all we need to do is protect the museum, right?" Touko nodded.

"Mr. Hawes inside will explain to you what's going on." She explained. Cheren nodded and made his way inside the museum. Bianca turned to follow him.

"Hey, wait for me!" She called out, and rushed after the boy. Touko took one last look at the museum before hurrying towards the awaiting Burgh.

Touko found Burgh at the sign that pointed towards Pinwheel Forest. She called out to him and he turned around.

"This leads to Pinwheel Forest. If they manage to scuttle off into the forest, we might have trouble." He explained. Both he and Touko began to make their way inside the deep forest.

The inner part of Pinwheel Forest was very dark, and Touko looked around afraid at the massive dark trees that populated the area. Burgh offered to heal her Pokemon since she had just battled Lenora and soon they found themselves at two paths. Burgh turned towards her.

"Well, you see... There are two ways out of Pinwheel Forest - the road that goes straight and the path that winds through the woods." Touko prayed silently that Burgh would not let her go inside the woods. "I will take the straight road after them! If they're not there, I'll block the exit." He said before beginning to walk away. "Would you please take the other way and check whether Team Plasma is hiding in there somewhere? You'll run into a lot of Trainers, but it's basically a single path, so I'm sure you won't get lost." Seeing Touko's discouraged face, he jumped up and down. "Come on! Let's do this for Lenora's sake!" He finally told her before leaving her standing.

Touko looked at the path that led deeper into the woods and gulped. The sun had been setting the last time she saw it, but in the deep thick woods of Pinwheel Forest, it seemed as if it was already night from the darkness.

"Like they wouldn't hide inside the forest... he's just scared..." Touko muttered under her breath. As soon as she began to walk down the path, she came face to face with trainers. Touko gave a sigh of exasperation.

Once Touko managed to defeat the twins with the Sewaddles, Touko realised that she didn't have a single Pokemon which was super effective against Grass types or Bug types. She groaned. As she continued, she began to encounter Plasma Grunts, one after the other.

Touko rolled her eyes at the comments the Plasma grunts were giving her, and easily defeated them. She even laughed when a grunt suggested that she was jealous of their outfits. She walked down the path they had run to slowly, able to easily pinpoint where they had gone. Saw had been more than capable of beating his foes single-handed.

The only trouble Touko faced as she continued through the woods were the Grass and Bug type Pokemon and the dark. The deeper she went, the darker the woods became and it sent shivers down Touko's spine.

"Ugh. Venipedes... Sewaddles... stupid Venipedes..." Touko's three Pokemon looked at their trainer and back between each other, wondering what she was muttering about. She began to stomp around the trees furiously, frustrated with the turn of events. She had expected to be on her way to Castelia City by now... certainly not being lost in the woods.

There were trainers at every corner that she turned to, and the grunts were scattered all over the place. Touko received help from the few Rangers in the area, but by the time she managed to reach a clearing, she had fought over ten trainers in a row. At the clearing, there was one grunt left.

"A pursuer?" The grunt said to himself silently. "Uh, ha ha. A kid like you - beat some of us?" The man laughed in disbelief. Touko's eye twitched. Being called a kid was starting to annoy her greatly. "That can't be helped, but... I'll take you on now!" The man said and called out a Patrat. Touko grinned. Saw stood high next to her and moved forward.

"Saw, let's get this stupid business over with. Double Kick." Touko ordered. Saw walked towards the scared Patrat and with one single kick, managed to make the Pokemon faint. The grunt growled lowly before sending out another Patrat.

Saw defeated the man's following two Pokemon with ease. The grunt recalled his fainted Sandile and the groaned in frustration. He turned towards Touko, worry in his eyes.

"Plasmaaaa! If this keeps up, we won't save the Pokemon!" He cried out. He glared at the girl. "Fine. Take your stupid skull!" The grunt said, and threw the skull at Touko, who caught it. The skull was pretty big, so she gave it to Saw to hold as she turned towards the grunt once again.

"So the dream our king had - the dream we had - won't come true..." the grunt muttered as he stepped back. Touko began to say something until a robed man walked past her and stood next to the wide-eyed grunt.

"How are you holding up, fellow subject of our king?" The man asked. The grunt turned and immediately fell to his one knee and bowed.

"Gorm of the Seven Sages!" He cried out. "I'm mortified that this skull, which we went to so much trouble to obtain, was stolen from us so easily." He shouted nervously. Gorm told the man to stand up and shook his head.

"It's not important. We can afford to abandon the Dragon Skull. According to the results of our research, this is not the legendary Pokemon for which Team Plasma is looking. It is completely unrelated." Gorm explained. He began to walk away with the grunt before turning to look at Touko for the first time. "But we will not allow anyone to disrupt our plans and get away with it. We will fix it so you never interfere with us again." Gorm threatened.

Touko took a step back, and bumped into someone. She quickly turned around, and looked relieved as she saw Burgh heading to stand by her side.

"Oh, sweet!" He said. "The bug Pokemon were getting all worked up, so here I come, and what do I spy with my little eye? This important-looking guy!" Burgh joked. Both Touko and Gorm looked at Burgh weirdly. "Are you here to help your friends, whom I defeated?" Burgh said. Touko turned to glare at him, but he didn't seem to have noticed.

"Touko! Burgh!" Touko turned and smiled as she saw the figure of Lenora approaching. She went to stand next to Touko. "The others didn't have anything..." she began to tell Touko before she noticed Gorm. She turned towards him and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"And who are you supposed to be?" She asked him. She eyed him up and down, wondering what kind of outfit he was wearing. "Is this guy the big boss?" She asked Touko and Burgh. Gorm cleared his throat calmly.

"I am one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. Ghetsis, another of the Seven Sages, will liberate Pokemon with words alone!" Touko flinched from the sound of the name. She hated the man who was trying to convince people, even her, that humans and Pokemon were supposed to be separated. "The remainder of the Seven Sages have ordered their compatriots to take Pokemon with full force! But the odds are a little against us now." Then he turned towards Lenora and Burgh.

"To you, the Bug Pokemon user Burgh and the Normal Pokemon user Lenora, I say... Know your enemies, know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles... This time, we shall retreat quietly." He turned towards the grunt and began to leave. "To secure the liberation of Pokemon, we will steal Pokemon from Trainers! Even though you are Gym Leaders, we will not tolerate any further obstruction from you. In any case, we will settle this someday. I hope you are looking forward to that time as much as I..."

Gorm turned away with the grunt and began to leave. He took one last glance at the leaders and particularly at Touko before disappearing in the woods. Lenora and Burgh turned to face each other.

"They're a speedy bunch." Lenora said. "What are you planning to do, Burgh? Are you going to chase them?" She asked her fellow Gym Leader.

"Hmmm... We got back the stolen skull, and if we corner them, there's no telling what they might do. I think I'll be heading back, Lenora..." He turned to face Touko. "Well, now. Well... I'll be waiting for your challenge at Castelia City's Pokemon Gym." He began to laugh. "Yes, indeed. I'm certainly looking forward to it!" He shook Touko's hand one last time before leaving at the same path Gorm and the grunt had gone to.

"Touko!" Touko turned to face Lenora. "You're holding the Dragon Skull you worked so hard to get back, right?" Touko grinned, and pointed to Saw who was standing by the trees holding the skull. Saw approached Lenora and gave her the skull. "Touko, thank you so much. With a kind Trainer like you taking care of them, the Pokemon with you must be happy. Here is a token of my gratitude. Please use it carefully!" She said. She took a stone from her pocket and handed it to Touko.

"This is a Moon Stone! Some Pokemon evolve when you use this item on them. Now, I must take the Dragon Skull back to the museum! See you! Take care of yourself!" And Lenora began to leave.

"Ms. Lenora! I will come with you. I'd like to stay in Nacrene for a while." Touko said. Lenora turned to the teenager and grinned. Together they walked towards the city again. She offered Saw's assistance on carrying the skull, and Lenora more than gladly complied. Touko looked around her as the forest was replaced once again by the road and the clear night sky. She took a deep breath in and smiled, following Lenora.

When Touko and Lenora reached the museum, everyone was relieved to find that they had retrieved the skull safely. As Cheren and Bianca challenged Lenora to battle, Touko laughed. They made their way towards the library. On the way to the stairs, Touko saw the light white stone again. She stared at it intensely before Hawes called her. She turned and smiled, and followed Hawes up the stairs.

* * *

**_Oh right, so I wanted to say I found this old story I used to work on. So I was thinking, since this story will progress reaaaaaally slowly, I'll be also working on that story and posting it soon, since it doesn't necessarily follow a certain gameplay (which takes ages since I actually play the game while writing). It's actually with the PokeSpe characters! :D I know this was long, but if you made it until down here, thank you! ^^_**


	10. Confrontation

_**Hallo! It's been a while. I've started school, and I've been busy as hell.**_

_**Anyway, I won't say anything. This is long, so, enjoy wasting a few minutes of your life :)  
**_

_**Oh yeah, reminder. I think I screwed up the time on how long stuff took for Touko to do, but.. I'll change it some other time :D  
**_

* * *

Touko stayed in Nacrene an extra day. She went around the city and spent a lot of quality time at the museum as well with Lenora and Hawes as they explained to her the different fossils and artifacts at the museum.

Cheren and Bianca had won their badges and had already gone the day before. After their victory, they had stayed overnight with Touko at the Center but left early in the morning. Rior, Imi, and Saw were more than relieved to get a day of break.

Her stay at Nacrene City also helped her relax. Touko didn't have good sleep on her first night at Nacrene. She had been thoughtful of the things Team Plasma and N had told her. Whenever she thought about it, she felt frustrated that she had two potential enemies. N and Team Plasma, were, after all, people who opposed anything that had to do with humans and Pokemon together. It frustrated her that she'd have to deal with both a whole organisation and a confident tall teenage boy and his dreams.

Touko slightly shuddered as she made her way through the road in Pinwheel Forest. Lenora had told her that it was the only way for her to reach Castelia. The road was a much easier place to travel through than the path she had taken the other day. During her stay at Nacrene, she had also had the opportunity to wash the clothes she had worn the previous days. She'd call her mom as well to inform her of how her journey was, and to ask her to send some other clothes.

After walking for about forty five minutes, Touko rushed as she saw the light coming out from the exit. When she walked out of the forest, she found herself standing at a platform near a gate. Looking around, there were trees and ahead of her was the famous Skyarrow Bridge. She grinned.

Skyarrow Bridge was the largest thing she had ever seen in her life. It had taken Touko more than five minutes to reach the top of the stairs, so when she saw how far she'd have to cross in order to reach Castelia City, she frowned. She called out her three Pokemon, who began to walk alongside her.

Touko took her time to cross the bridge. After all, she wasn't in a hurry, and it was still very early in the morning. The bridge curved and as she walked upwards and sideways, she raced with her Pokemon. There were quite a few people by the bridge, some just looking at the horizon and others taking pictures.

After two hours, Touko found herself standing right on top of the ocean. She stood there, standing by the rails, and looked at the passing ships. The sky was clear blue and few clouds hovered right above her. She was very high, and although Touko was not afraid of heights, she didn't dare get any closer to the rails than when she had bent to see the ocean.

By the time Touko got halfway through the bridge, it had already been about two hours and half and she was exhausted. She had been racing her Pokemon the entire time, and when she turned to look at them, her eyes widened to see that both Imi and Rior were still energetic. Saw on the other hand was simply walking now and Touko stared at him sympathetically.

"Tired Saw?" Touko's Sawk nodded and she recalled him inside his ball. She turned her head as Imi and Rior began to race each other. Touko rolled her eyes and laughed before running after them.

Touko managed to reach the end of the bridge after four and a half hours of walking and sighed. She walked down the stairs towards the gate of the large city in a hurry. Although Touko wanted to reach Castelia City as soon as possible, she decided to stop by the gate and rest. She called out Saw and gave her Pokemon lunch. Once they were done, she finally stepped through the gate and into Castelia City.

Touko's eyes widened as she saw the high skyscrapers looming above her. To her right were buildings after buildings and to her left was the ocean and the port. Touko decided to go down the port that was closest to the gate in order to get a closer view of the oceans and the ships. At the first port she went to, a man gave her a Water Stone after seeing Imi. Touko thanked him before heading back towards the city.

As she continued to walk straight by the ports, she soon found a Pokemon Center. Too excited to enter the Center, she memorised it's location before heading towards the second port that she saw right in front of the Center.

As she went towards the Cruise Ship dock, she saw a large ship waiting. She approached the ship and eyed it in awe. Back at Nuvema, the only ship she had ever seen were small boats passing by the coastline. A man stood by the ship's entrance and was speaking to other people. After seeing that no one else was at the dock, she returned to the land and headed towards the next dock.

She passed streets and streets but hesitated in going there in fear that she'd simply get lost. She ran towards the next dock which was called 'Prime Pier'. There wasn't much at the Prime Pier. There was only one small black boat, much like a yacht, and a man wondered who the boat belonged to. There was only one other girl who was looking at the ocean. Smiling broadly, Touko headed towards the next dock.

There was a small ship on this dock, a girl and a man with music and who danced. Touko, Imi, and Rior watched the man dancing for a while before she decided to move on. She wanted to find the Gym first, hoping that if she did so, Burgh would help guide her through the large and confusing city.

The last dock was the smallest one in Castelia. Touko knew that she probably wouldn't be meeting any new Pokemon during her stay in Castelia, but she took it as an opportunity to learn new things. She was from a small town, so Castelia City was like a whole new world for her.

When Touko returned towards the main street, she searched through the signs in order to find the Pokemon Gym. She found the sign she was looking for which pointed towards a large street. She recalled Imi to the safety of her Poke Ball, and Rior walked beside his trainer faithfully.

There weren't many people in the street, and once Touko spotted the Gym, she rushed towards it. She ran inside, only to find herself bumping into someone and falling back. The boy laughed and held out a hand for her. She looked up and grinned.

"Hey, Touko. I just challenged the Gym Leader Burgh." He turned towards the Gym. "He's a seasoned Gym Leader. He made me work for that Gym Badge!" Cheren said. "But for me, Bug-type Pokemon aren't much of a challenge." Touko rolled her eyes. Of course it wasn't, since he had Blaze.

"I'm going to keep winning like this against all of the Unova region's Gym Leaders!" Cheren told Touko confidently. "Then, I'll head for the Pokemon League and outperform the Champion! If I do that, everyone will admit what a strong Trainer I am... That will make me feel truly alive..." Cheren told his best friend. Touko could see the flash of determination in her best friend's eyes and grinned.

"I'm glad you've got goals." Touko told him. Cheren grinned at his friend. He hugged her and then waved goodbye, saying that he needed to train much more. Touko laughed and waved goodbye. She was used to not traveling with her friends by now, and she knew she'd always meet them in her journeys.

"Ah hah!" Touko turned to see Burgh walking out of the Gym. "You're the one who fought Team Plasma in Pinwheel Forest... If I remember, your name is..." He began to mutter random names under his breath and Touko rolled her eyes. "Touko!" He finally said and Touko grinned. "Come to challenge the Gym, I suppose?" He said. Touko nodded. "Aww. Sorry, but could you wait a bit? I was informed that Team Plasma has shown up!" Touko's grin vanished. "In fact... Come with me! I'm going to the dock at Prime Pier!" He said, and Touko followed right behind him.

"Come on! This way!" Burgh said, and Touko ran after after him. Her eyes widened as she saw her blonde friend standing looking around desperately. "Team Plasma... They took this young lady's Pokemon." He said. Touko rushed to Bianca's side.

"Oh Bianca!" She said. Bianca was crying as she looked up to her best friend.

"Touko, is there anything we can do? My Munny... Team Plasma took it..." Touko froze. Hearing 'Munny' and 'Team Plasma' brought back the memories from the Dreamyard and soon she felt herself feeling furious, very furious. She took a step back.

"I heard this lady's scream and ran after the thief as fast as I could. But this city is so big and so crowded... I'm afraid I lost them." Touko turned to see a girl with long purple hair speaking to Burgh. Burgh nodded in understanding.

"Iris... You did everything you could." Burgh told her. Iris though, stomped on the ground in frustration.

"But that's so bad! Taking people's Pokemon is really bad! 'Cause it's really nice when people and Pokemon are together! They each have something the other doesn't, and they help each other!" The girl named Iris said. Touko's eyes drifted towards Iris and she eyed her curiously.

"Iris..." Bianca muttered.

"Agreed! No fear - we will get that Pokemon back. Right, Touko?" Burgh turned towards Touko, and Iris turned to face her as well for the first time.

Touko was furious. She wanted to bring down Team Plasma. She didn't care that they walked around having speeches about people liberating their Pokemon. But if they went around hurting her friends... that was one thing Touko could never forgive. Touko turned her fiery blue eyes to Burgh, and Burgh didn't need another confirmation.

"Having said that, finding a person or a Pokemon here in Castelia City will be like finding a needle in a haystack." Burgh said problematically. The four of them stood there for a few minutes, contemplating on what they should do next.

"I spy a Gym Leader?" All eyes turned to the female voice. Touko grimaced as she saw the figure of yet another Plasma grunt. The woman chuckled. "Last time went so well, I thought I'd grab another Pokemon... Rethinking... I need to get out of here!" And the grunt fled away as quick as possible.

"Touko, let's go!" Burgh told her. He turned towards the blonde and Iris. "Iris! You stay by that young lady's side." He said, and began to run after the grunt.

"I'm gonna be Bianca's bodyguard." Iris informed Touko. "So you go after those bad guys, OK?" Touko stood for a minute before nodding. She began to run after Burgh.

Having lost sight of Burgh, she decided to head back towards his Gym in hopes of finding him there. Luckily though, she did find him standing by the street towards his Gym.

"That way!" He said as he pointed down the street. "M'hm. There, heading toward the Gym?" And then he began to run. Touko took a deep breath and ran after the Gym Leader.

Touko looked around the street for the Gym Leader, and instead of finding him by his Gym, she found him standing in front of a large building. He was standing in front of three grunts who were blocking the entrance to the building.

"This is definitely the place." He told Touko. Touko went to stand by his side and glared at the grunts standing in front of her.

"No one's here! Not a soul! No other Team Plasma members, nor any of the Seven Sages, are inside... If you think I'm lying, why don't we have a little battle and find out?" Touko and Burgh looked at each other, dumbfounded by the grunt's stupidity before nodding. They turned to face the grunt and accepted the challenge, much to his fright.

"I... had a thought! I'll take care of this weak-looking runt, so you can show off by handling that tough-looking guy over there!" The other grunt said. Touko frowned and glared at the grunt who had said it, and he took a step back. She turned her head and her frown got deeper as she saw the smug look on Burgh's face.

"Oh, please! Touko, I'll leave that one to you!" Burgh said. Touko sighed and nodded, the two grunts sending out their two Pokemon on Burgh and the man who had insulted her sending out a Sandile. She continued to glare at the man as she sent out Saw.

"Saw, use Double Kick. No mercy." Touko said coldly. Saw kicked the Sandile twice with all his power, and the grunt's eyes widened as his Sandile immediately fainted. He sent out a second Sandile and Touko grinned.

"Again Saw." She ordered. Her eyes were fixiated on the grunt, who was looking at her in fright as his second Pokemon fainted. He recalled his Pokemon and took a step back. Touko was glaring at him menacingly and he began to walk away from her approaching figure.

"Come on! Seriously? All I did was take away people's Pokemon." He said. Touko watched from her side as the other two grunts were defeated as well and the stepped back from the duo.

"This is bad... Badbadbadbadbadbadbad!" The grunt said again in panic. "Bad for Team Plasma! Or Plasbad, for short! It's in my best interest to go report to the Seven Sages right now!" And the grunts ran away inside the building leaving Touko and Burgh standing.

"Phew, we got lost." Touko turned to see Iris and Bianca approaching them. "Even with directions from the Xtransceiver, I couldn't figure it out!" Iris said.

"Team Plasma is inside." Burgh said seriously. Touko turned her head and noticed that Burgh was still looking at the entrance, and for the first time since meeting him, he was very serious. "The stolen Pokemon may be in there as well." He said. "OK, I'm going in!" And he rushed inside the building.

"OK! This time, I'll join the fight!" Iris said. "Come on, Bianca. You, too!" She told Bianca. Bianca however, stepped in front of Iris.

"W-wait! Touko! You come, too!" Bianca said. Touko looked at her best friend in disbelief. Of course she was going. And she ran after the three figures inside the building.

Touko found the three standing side by side looking at someone. When she got to Burgh and Iris's side, she froze. Standing right in front of them was none other than Ghetsis, the Plasma grunts, and two other men who Touko assumed to be members of the Seven Sages.

"My word, if it isn't the Gym Leader, Burgh." Ghetsis said with the voice that Touko hated to hear.

"So, what would you say is the guiding principle of Team Plasma, anyway? 'Take what you want from people?'" Burgh retorted.

"I thought it would be amusing to prepare a hideout right in front of a Pokemon Gym, but we were detected more quickly than I imagined." The man to Ghetsis's right said.

"Indeed Bronius... No matter. We already have an exceptional base of operations." He answered back at the man. He turned towards the four people in front of him before his eyes landed on Touko. "Is everyone familiar with the legend of the founding of the Unova region?" He asked them.

"I am! It's the black Dragon-type Pokemon, right?" Iris said excitedly. Ghetsis left the safety of his group and approached Touko and her friends.

"The truth is this... The black dragon appeared before a hero who sought the ideal way to knit together a world full of warring people. This black Dragon-type Pokemon shared its knowledge - and bared its fangs at those who stood against it. Together, the power of this Pokemon and the hero brought unity to the hearts of everyone in the land, and that is how Unova was created." Ghetsis explained. He began to walk back and forth, and Touko was reminded of the way he had done so as well in the plaza in Accumula Town.

"We shall bring back the hero and that Pokemon to Unova once again! If we can win people's hearts and minds, we can easily create the world that I - I mean, Team Plasma - desires!" Ghetsis declared. Touko was lost in her thoughts as she began to recall the story from her childhood.

"Here in Castelia, we have a lot of different kinds of people. Everyone's ways of thinking and lifestyles are very different. Honestly, there's something about what you're saying I don't quite understand." Burgh said, still serious. The grunts around them asked him what it was.

"One thing we all have in common is that we all care a lot about Pokemon. Even people meeting for the first time can talk about Pokemon. Talk or battle or trade..." Burgh walked forward towards Ghetsis. "Remember your speech at Accumula Town?" He asked Ghetsis. Touko snapped out of her thoughts and took a step back.

"You were responsible for leading me to rethink my relationship with Pokemon. For that, I thank you. At that time, I made a promise... I swore to myself that I would dedicate myself to Pokemon even more strongly! What you guys are doing... Aren't you going to strengthen the bond between people and Pokemon even more?" Burgh said passionately. Touko stared at the man whom she had thought of as a joke before and felt admiration rising in her veins.

"Myah-ha-ha-ha!" Ghetsis laughed. Touko glared back at Ghetsis. "You are quite hard to figure out - a little more intelligent that I'd expected. I am fond of intelligent people, you see. You'll enjoy hearing about this... From every corner of the world, I have gathered knowledgeable people for our king's benefit. You could call them the Seven Sages. Very well! We will submit to your opinion and be on our way." He told Burgh. He turned towards the grunts. "That girl over there... Return her Pokemon!" He commanded in his harsh voice.

The grunt did so and released the Munna. Munny floated back to her trainer in happiness and Bianca held her in her arms.

"Th-thank you!" Bianca cried out. "Munny, I'm so glad to see you again!" She said, and tears of joy began to flow on her cheeks.

"Bianca!" Iris turned to the blonde. "Why are you thanking them? They take people's precious Pokemon!" Iris told her. Bianca turned towards the younger girl.

"It's just... I'm... I'm so happy that my Munny is safe." Bianca explained.

"The friendship between Pokemon and people can be very touching. But, in order to liberate Pokemon from foolish people, we will revive the legend of Unova - and win the hearts and minds of everyone. Farewell..." he said. As he left the building with Team Plasma, his gaze never left those of Touko's. Touko had been glaring at him since she entered the building, and Ghetsis had noticed it. But as he neared the exit, he turned around and walked away.

"What are you doing? Why are you letting them get away?" Iris scolded Burgh. Burgh turned towards Iris.

"Gah! What do we do if anything's happened to the other stolen Pokemon?" He said, and Touko noticed the serious tone he had before replaced by the one she had known him to speak by.

"It's OK. Thank you, Iris!" Bianca said happily. "No one was hurt. More than anything, I got my darling Pokemon back again!" She said. Iris turned in disappointment.

"OK, if you're happy..." she said silently.

"What is everyone planning to do now?" He asked the three girls.

"Oh, it would be sensational to look around Castelia City, but..." Bianca began. Iris turned around as she noticed the tone of worry in her new friend's voice.

"Don't worry! I'll keep on being your bodyguard!" Iris told her boldly.

"Iris..." Bianca said while laughing at the younger girl.

"Uh-hm. That's great!" Burgh interrupted. "Iris is a dazzling Pokemon Trainer, but maybe not at home in the big city yet. So, a little give-and-take, hm! People and Pokemon need to help each other out!" He said, with a smile on his face. Iris turned to look at Touko and smiled at her.

"Also, thanks for looking for the Pokemon! Here, this is for you!" Iris handed Touko a berry. "See you!" Iris said and rushed out with Bianca.

"Whaa... Tou-" But before Bianca could say anything else, they were gone. Touko turned and watch the two disappear in the crowd. Burgh slowly walked to Touko's side.

"Are you alright?" Touko turned to look at Burgh. She nodded.

"That's good." He took a deep breath in. "Well, then, Touko. I'll be waiting in the Gym." He said, and waved her goodbye.

Touko stood in the empty hallway for a few minutes looking at the ground. She had several things in her mind. Ghetsis had mentioned a Dragon-type Pokemon and the legend of Unova. Of course, having been raised in Unova, Touko knew of the legend. She couldn't recall, however, the name of the legendary dragon. But it was Ghetsis words that disturbed her.

Ghetsis had mentioned something of being a 'hero' and of the 'dragon-type' Pokemon. Fear began to creep into her mind as Touko remembered N. He had, as well, mentioned something of a dragon-type Pokemon and of being a hero. She walked out of the building into the city which was getting darker. If both Ghetsis and N tried to go after the Dragon-type Pokemon, then Touko knew there would be war. Each trainer would go after the legendary, and Touko shivered thinking of what would happen afterward.

Whether Team Plasma or N got hold of the legendary, they both pursued similar ideals. They both wanted to separate Pokemon and humans. Touko began to walk around the city aimlessly, deep in thought of what the future held.

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_**And there you have the ninth chapter. I'm uploading the tenth after this, with a little note at the end of it ;)**_


	11. Castelia City

_**And here's the tenth! This... is slightly longer than the previous one.**_

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Touko had gone straight to the Pokemon Center and fell asleep early. Walking through Pinwheel Forest, Skyarrow Bridge, and the bustling roads of Castelia City had exhausted her. When she woke up the next morning, Touko had found a building called 'Battle Company' and decided to train for a while. She didn't have any Fire-type Pokemon against Burgh's Bug-type and she definitely needed to train.

When Touko walked in the building, an old man approached her.

"Good morning. People who work in this building have Pokemon battles, not opinion battles. You appear to be strong, but if you go upstairs, please be extra careful." He warned her. Then he headed straight towards the elevator and disappeared from her sight.

Touko followed behind the man and pressed the button for the elevator. There were over fifty floors on the building, and when she asked the woman at the counter, the woman had said that floors 47 and 55 were where the people battled. So Touko pressed the button for floor 47.

As soon as Touko entered the large floor, she was immediately challenged by the workers of the building. And everyone watched.

"Saw, use Double Kick." Touko ordered. Saw ran towards the woman's Herdier and kicked it twice. Touko had hoped the Herdier would faint at once, but it gave a low growl before standing back up. The clerk ordered Herdier to use Bite, and successfully bit Saw on his leg.

Seeing how weak the Herdier already was, Touko called out to Saw to use Rock Smash. Saw approached the panting Herdier and used his fist to hit it on its back. Herdier fainted immediately. As Touko was challenged by another clerk, she began to wonder whether Saw could be her only chance against Burgh.

A man walked towards Touko and handed her a couple of Quick Balls and Timer Balls. Touko thanked the man before another Clerk named Clemens challenged her. Touko grinned. It had definitely been a good idea to enter the Battle Company.

Touko realised why the floor was so large. She remembered her first battle in her house and grinned. Back then they had made a big mess, and Touko was surprised at how well her Pokemon could battle in such a small space without breaking anything.

Once she defeated Clemens, he began following her around as she continued to battle. Clemens had said that he'd like to learn from her battling skills, which had made Touko flush. As soon as she beat half the floor, everyone had heard of the girl with the winning streak, and everyone watched as she battled the last person left on the floor. A scientist.

Another Scientist gave Touko a Scope Lens, and soon she made her way to the 55th floor, where even stronger trainers waited.

The fifty-fifth floor was as large as the forty-seventh, however the spaces were even narrower than before. And Touko had learned that it was a rule that trainers had to be extra careful when they battled against one another.

When Touko looked around, she found the old man she'd seen earlier in the lobby sitting behind a desk. As she began to walk towards him, another, but older, clerk named Wade challenged her. Touko sighed, before sending out Rior. Clerk Wade battled Touko with all three elemental monkeys. Rior had happily battled his Panpour, Imi battled his Pansear, and Saw battled Pansage.

When clerk Wade congratulated Touko on her victory, she went and stood in front of the old man's desk. The old man looked up from his computer and looked at Touko in recognition.

"Oh! You are the Pokemon Trainer I met at the entrance!" He told her. "You've come this far. That means you must be quite strong. Are you prepared to face the strongest person in this building? Are you prepared to face the chairman?" Touko took a step back, surprised. The man was not wearing formal clothing like everyone else so hearing that he was the chairman surprised her. Nevertheless, she nodded. The man grinned. "Then, the time has come. I am the one! I accept your challenge!"

The man named Geoff sent out a Pokemon Touko had never seen before called Trubbish. Touko had to cover her nose from the disgusting smell the Pokemon was emitting. She sent out Saw, and even though she didn't know what type of Pokemon Trubbish was, ordered him to use Leer.

Geoff told Trubbish to use Toxic Spikes, and Saw looked around him as different purple spikes spread on the floor. Touko took out her Pokedex, for the first time in a while, and opened it. She found out that Trubbish was a Poison-type Pokemon.

"Saw, use Double Kick!" Saw expertly ran towards Trubbish and kicked the Pokemon twice. Trubbish's expression though remained impassive, and attacked Saw calmly with acid bubbles. Touko watched in horror as Saw began to look sick.

"Saw? What the...?" She wondered. Geoff laughed.

"Your Sawk is poisoned young lady. The advantages of my Trubbish is how easily he can poison." Geoff told her. Touko ordered Saw to use Double Kick again, and this time the small Trubbish fainted much to his trainer's shock.

Geoff called out a Minccino next, and although Touko could see the way Saw was suffering from his poisoned state, he was the only one who could end the battle with the Normal-type Pokemon immediately. So Touko took a deep breath and ordered Saw to use Double Kick. Saw, wanting to get back into his Poke Ball, immediately ran towards the Minccino and before it could react, Saw had kicked it twice with full force.

Geoff recalled his fainted Pokemon and walked towards Touko with a grin. Touko on the other hand, had recalled Saw in order to let him rest.

"You sure know how to clean up." Geoff told her. Touko looked up and gave him a weak smile. She still didn't buy that he was the chairman. And Geoff seemed to catch up on this. "I disguise myself as a janitor because I like to know what kinds of Trainers come here." Geoff explained. "I had a good time battling you. This is a token of my esteem. Please accept this!" He handed Touko a small device.

"A Pokemon holding an Exp. Share gets some of the Exp. Points from every battle, even if it's not involved." Touko stared at the small device again before looking back at Geoff.

"So you mean, if I give this to one of my Pokemon, it can get stronger even without battling?" She asked the man. Geoff laughed.

"That's right! It may be useful for raising weak Pokemon." He told her. Thanking the man one last time, Touko made her way to the elevator and out of the building.

As Touko walked towards Burgh's Gym, she met a boy. The boy told her that he'd just tried to challenge Burgh, but was easily defeated.

"Wouldn't... that be... you've only got... Grass-type Pokemon." Touko told the boy. Standing behind the boy were three Cottonees. The boy shrugged.

"I'm going back home to train. I suggest you go to the desert area and catch a Fire-type Pokemon before challenging Burgh." The boy said, and left in a hurry.

Touko thought about it and decided that perhaps it would be wise if she caught a Fire-type Pokemon first. She wanted, after all, to prove to Burgh that she was a powerful trainer. Touko wanted more than anything to prove to him what both she and her Pokemon were worthy of doing. So she headed from street to street, looking at the signs, until she saw the gate for the exit of Castelia.

There had been many people in the streets, each heading their own way. Castelia City's exit gate was the largest one Touko had seen. There were many workers sitting at the tables having lunch. When she asked the lady by the gate, the lady explained to her that there were some constructions going on. The lady showed her the way to the shop by the gate for items that Touko would need for the desert.

Touko thanked the lady and went to the shop. She bought a large coat and goggles and recalled all her Pokemon. The lady had warned her of the fierce sandstorm by the desert. Touko had left her sack at the Center, as she assumed she'd be staying in Castelia longer than she had in Nacrene.

The moment Touko left the gate, she felt the sandstorm hitting her. She walked for five minutes before finally finding a path between the gates. As she looked around her before going towards the path, she saw a person standing by the road far away. Touko thought she recognised the boy standing in the middle of the road, but turned towards the path again.

"Oh! Trainer, take a look at the sand." Touko turned to see a buff looking hiker standing by the path. She turned towards the sand. "Do you see how some areas are lighter? And some of the sand looks... darker... Pokemon are hiding in the darker sand!" He told her.

Touko looked at the sand and noticed that indeed there were darker patches. She remembered the Plasma grunts' Sandiles and shivered. She didn't want to come across that Pokemon.

But as soon as Touko began to walk through the sandy area, she saw groups and groups of Sandile. Touko tried to walk around them in order to avoid them. But many times she'd accidentally fall over or step on one, and she'd send out Saw to battle.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Touko began to wonder whether she would really find a Fire-type Pokemon in the sand. She knew that Fire-type Pokemon did not like Ground-type Pokemon and the area only seemed to have sand and endless sand.

Touko even came across some workers and tough trainers in the beginning of Route 4 who challenged her into battles. Touko continued walking through the sandy area, soon feeling exhausted. She took out her Town Map and tried to pinpoint her position.

Suddenly Touko tripped again and fell on her face. She stood back up and let out a groan of frustration.

"I'm sick and tired of this! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID SAND-" and then she stopped. Standing in front of her was not a Sandile but a red couloured Pokemon. The Pokemon was looking at her and she stared back. Touko got her Pokedex out and found out that the Pokemon was called Darumaka. A Fire-type Pokemon. Touko grinned.

"Imi, use Cut!" She ordered as she called out Imi. Imi looked at the red ball of Pokemon and cut it on it's head. The Darumaka growled. He attacked Imi with an Incinerate. Touko ordered Imi to use Cut again and then the Darumaka fell down, it's previously chirpy face gone. The Darumaka was exhausted, so Touko took the opportunity to get a Poke Ball from her bag and threw it towards the Pokemon.

The ball shook once. Twice. Thrice. And then it stopped. Touko stared at Imi and back and then the two began to jump up and down from joy. Touko ran towards the ball and grabbed it. She stared at the Pokemon inside the ball for a while before hurrying away. She called back Imi and began to find her way back towards Castelia City's gate.

After a whole half an hour of aimless walking, she finally found a building. She knocked on the door of the house and a lady looked at her horrified. The lady let her in, and Touko shook the sand on her off.

"Oh dear! Are you alright? What? Are you worn out? OK! Then rest here for a minute!" The woman told her. Touko nodded and thanked her. The woman's cabin was not very large. There was just enough space for a bookshelf, a desk, a computer desk, and two bunk beds. The lady's only companion was a Sandile who was walking around the room.

"Here dear, have some tea." Touko looked up and took hold of the lady's tea.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay here a while." Touko said. The lady laughed.

"It's alright. It's not like I get many guests, if you know what I mean. Did you get lost?" Touko sat by the desk while the woman sat on the desk opposite.

"Kind of. I've been about..." she checked her Xtransceiver and her eyes widened. "Oh, wow. I've been out in the desert for... about two hours now. I was... looking for a Pokemon." Touko explained. The lady nodded.

"Ah, a Darumaka I suppose?" She said. Touko looked at her in surprise and the woman laughed. "Many go to the desert to catch one to fight against Burgh. But only few are successful. How did you manage?" The lady asked her. Then a lightbulb lit up on Touko and she grinned. She got the Poke Ball with her new Pokemon and sent him out.

"Congratulations dear!" The lady told her, and Touko laughed. The Darumaka looked up at its new trainer and Touko knelt down.

"Hello. I'm Touko." She said. Darumaka tilted his head and smiled. "Can I call you Arman?" She asked the Pokemon. Darumaka continued to stare into his trainer's blue eyes and nodded. Touko smiled before standing back up. "OK. I'll recall you so you won't get hurt in the sandstorm." Touko said, and called back her new Pokemon.

"Thank you very much for the tea and for letting me stay." Touko said once again and the lady laughed. Touko put on her goggles and her coat again and headed out into the sandstorm.

When Touko got back at Castelia's gate, the first thing she did was to remove the goggles and the jacket. She held them into her arms before calling out her four Pokemon. Touko introduced them all and she was glad that they seemed to get along. Slowly, and with Rior by her side, she headed towards Burgh's Gym.

She decided to head back towards the Pokemon Center first in order to heal her weak Pokemon before her battle against Burgh. As she went inside, she saw a girl with a green headband standing in front of the nurse's desk. Touko walked behind the girl and the girl turned.

"Wanna recover Pokemon? Oh, soooooorry!" She said, and walked to the side. "Do you know Geonet?" She asked Touko, as Touko handed the nurse her Poke Balls. Touko shook her head. The girl turned to look at the second floor of the Center.

"You see the globe on the second floor of this Pokemon Center?" She asked. Touko looked up and saw a large globe spiraling around a base. "That is Geonet. If you check on Geonet, you can register the place where you're from! Then trainers who come here can know who's been where and where they're from! Isn't that cool?" The girl said in excitement.

Touko smiled at the girl. She wasn't planning on actually doing so on the Geonet, and as she turned, the nurse handed her back her Poke Balls.

"Thank you for waiting." The nurse said. "We've recovered your Pokemon to full health. Please visit the Poke Mart if you need Antidotes, Parlyze Heals and the rest. We hope to see you again!" The nurse said. Touko thanked her and went towards the Mart.

After buying Potions, Super Potions, and Antidotes, Touko made her way out of the Center towards Burgh's Gym. Fire-type Pokemon or no fire-type Pokemon, she'd make sure that she beat Burgh.

Burgh's Gym was by far the weirdest Touko had ever seen. There were walls everywhere, however also gooey things that as Clyde explained, was honey. He offered her a suit as he explained that she'd have to walk through the honey in order to get to Burgh. If she got lost, she'd have to battle trainers as well and find the switch to open the next door. Touko sighed as she put the suit on. Clyde had also offered her another bottle of water like he always did, and this time, Touko took a sip just before approaching the first honey-wall.

Touko had to push her way through the wall in difficulty. But when she finally made it, she stepped on a switch and one of the lights to her right began to flicker. There was only one more way to follow so she followed the path of the honeycomb until she came across a trainer. And then her path through Burgh's honeycomb continued as she battled trainers, pressed switches and had to push through honey-walls.

As Touko made her way up the purple staircase towards Burgh, she began to think that the style of his Gym really wasn't weird. Burgh's Gym was the third Gym she'd entered, and she'd come to realise that each Gym Leader made their Gym to suit their personality. The trio in Striaton made a restaurant because of their devotion to food, their tea, and they had even wore waiters' suits. Lenora's Gym was in a museum, and it made sense as she also worked with fossils and artifacts. And Burgh... Burgh absolutely loved Bug-type Pokemon, so the honeycomb certainly made sense.

Burgh was standing on an arena at the top of the staircase. When he saw Touko, he grinned.

"Thanks again for your help yesterday." He said. "My bug Pokemon are scurrying with excitement about getting to battle you. Let's get straight to it!" Touko nodded and called out Arman for the first time to battle. Burgh grinned and sent out a Whirlipede.

"Someone's done their homework." Burgh said. Touko winked at the man.

"Of course. I want to show you what kind of a Trainer I really am!" Touko said. "Alright Arman, let's show 'em! Arman, Fire Fang!" She called out. Arman snapped out of his usual gentle nature and ran towards the coiled Whirlipede and bit it, fire bursting from it's bite.

Both Touko and Burgh's eyes widened in surprise as the Whirlipede immediately fainted. They stood there for a while, until Burgh smiled and recalled his Pokemon. Arman turned to see trainer and saw her staring at him in joy.

The next Pokemon Burgh sent out was a Pokemon called Dwebble. Touko decided to send Imi up against the crab/rock Pokemon.

"Imi, use Water Gun!" Touko shouted. Imi shot a strong wave of water towards the Dwebble from her mouth, and the Dwebble did a turn before standing back up.

"Dwebble, Smack Down now!" Burgh commanded. The Dwebble took hold of the surprised Imi's arms and lifted her in the air before smacking her on the ground. Imi whimpered.

"Snick! My switch was turned on!" Burgh shouted out. Touko's eyes shifted towards the Gym Leader and she noticed that he was once again in the attitude in which she had gotten to know him from. If a stranger walked in, they wouldn't have been able to connect this man to the one she had seen the previous night facing off Ghetsis.

"OK Imi, Dwebble hates the water. Let's show him what water can do!" Touko called out. Imi nodded before breathing in. She shot a wave of water on the Dwebble and this time, the Dwebble did not get up. Burgh recalled his second Pokemon and called out his third Pokemon, a Leavanny.

"Could it be time to bug out of here? No, no. I refuse to be squashed!" Burgh shouted at. Touko looked at him weirdly before calling out Arman.

"Arman boy, use Incinerate!" Touko said. Arman let out a hot wave of fire towards the Leavanny, but it never reached the foe. Once the flames were gone, Burgh grinned.

"'Protect' is a very useful move, is it not?" He told Touko. Touko sighed.

"OK, Arman again!" She said. Once again, Arman let out a hot wave of fire towards the Leavanny. Before the Leavanny could protect itself, he got hit by the fire.

"Leavanny, use Razor Leaf!" Burgh commanded. Sharp leaves began to get out of the Leavanny's hands and aimed towards Arman. Arman got hit by the belly and almost fainted. But he stood back up and jumped on the much taller Leavanny and bit it with a Fire Fang.

Fire began to surround the unprotected Leavanny, and when Arman went back to his trainer's side, the Leavanny turned and fainted. Touko hugged her new Pokemon and then turned to look at the astounded Gym Leader.

"Is it over? Has my muse abandoned me?" He said under his breath. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and shrugged before walking towards Touko. "Aww... I lost." He told her.

"Whatever! Losing to you doesn't bug me because you are a-MAZ-ingly strong!" He exclaimed, and Touko laughed. He grinned. "This is the Gym Badge! You beat me, so it's yours!" And he handed Touko her third Badge.

Burgh's badge was golden like the other two, but this time is was shaped like a leaf or a sideways heart and there were three green gems on it. Touko thanked Burgh and placed it on its place in her Badge Case.

"It's the Insect Badge! It's insectible - I mean, incredible!" He said jokingly. "If you have three Badges, Pokemon up to Lv. 40 will obey you, including traded Pokemon. And... Because I'm a generous guy, I'll also give you this." Touko looked at the TM76 in her hands.

"That TM contains Struggle Bug. Struggle Bug also lowers the Sp. Atk of the target that was damaged. I'm the best guy to tell you, it's the little things that count!" He said, and they both began to laugh.

Burgh walked to a switch next to him and pressed it, and Touko saw the rooms downstairs changing.

"It's easier to walk out of here without the honeycomb." Burgh explained. Touko grinned. They began to walk down the stairs towards the Gym's exit.

"How many discoveries have you made since you started your adventure?" He asked her. Touko pondered on it for a while.

"Quite a few." She simply replied. Burgh nodded.

"When I was a kid, my innocent heart was captured by the beauty of bug Pokemon. I drew with them and battled with them, and after all this time, I continue to discover new things." He explained as they reached the exit. Burgh looked up at the sky before turning to smile at Touko.

"Remember Touko. A world shared with Pokemon is a world swarming with mysteries." He told her before waving goodbye and heading back inside his Gym.

As Touko looked up at the sky just the way Burgh had, her Xtransceiver began to ring. She got it out of her bag and answered.

"Hey there! Where are you now?" Bianca's voice said loudly from the device.

"I'm right outside Burgh's Gym." Touko replied.

"Ah, um, OK. Could you do me a favor? Let's have a Pokemon battle! Iris has trained me, and I've become a little stronger. I should be able to protect my own Pokemon now." Bianca told her.

"Iris trained... Bianca, you're asking me to battle you from the phone?" Touko asked her childhood friend in disbelief. She heard Bianca giggling.

"Let's meet at the gate to Route 4!" Bianca said loudly again.

"Where are you now?" Touko asked her.

"Well, I'm not there yet... but... I'll be there in an hour!" Bianca replied.

"OK then, OK. In an hour." Touko told her friend in defeat.

"OK, see you later!" Bianca said back and hung up.

Touko sighed. She had spent all morning training and it was almost three at noon. She decided to tour the city a bit more, perhaps buy something, get her things from the Pokemon Center and be on her way towards the next city.

* * *

_**Um, so I uploaded two chapters today because sooner or later, I'll be out of chapters. I had written it on my profile a while back, but I'm temporarily putting this story on hiatus. Originally, it was because I was having troubles with the game, but now that school started, the high school work is really getting to me. So, no time to write or play. I believe there are two or three more chapters left before the last one I wrote, so I apologise from now about this. I didn't intend to put it into hiatus, but you never know about things in life, right? If anybody ever wants to continue this story, please feel free to tell me so. I really enjoyed writing this up, even with everything that screwed it up, but thanks to the people who've read it as well :)**_

_**I'll be uploading the next chapters in the couple of days to come. So until then, au revoir!  
**_


	12. Desert Match

_**Aw man. I feel really bad as I keep posting the next chapters. I got a few more followers on this story (thank you so much!). It makes me feel like wanting to end it, ya know? Well, maybe I might be able to stretch my imagination a bit more and do so... but that's hypothetically. Anyway, just.. go on :P**_

* * *

Touko let out Arman and Imi during her stroll around the city. She had tried to convince Saw and Rior to walk with her as well, but the two preferred to be in their Poke Balls. During her tour around the city, she had met new people, gone into new stores, and even helped form a dance group. The leader of the dance group gave her an Amulet Coin as thanks.

She was disappointed when she didn't get the chance to taste the famous Casteliacone, but made a mental note to return to Castelia one day. She had also bought gifts for her mother and her friends, and had sent them back to Nuvema through Unova's post office. After Touko finished packing her things, she made her way towards the gate to Route 4. If she stayed in the big city any longer, she probably would lose her mind. It wasn't, after all, as peaceful as Nacrene.

At the gate, Touko looked around for her blonde friend. Seeing that she was still not there, she continued to walk through the gate until she heard a voice calling her from behind. Touko turned around to greet her friend.

"Hello Touko! You remember the promise you made on the Xtransceiver, right?" Bianca asked Touko. Touko rolled her eyes.

"Of course Bianca, you called me an hour ago." Touko told her. Bianca grinned and Touko could see her face filling with excitement.

"So, let's get right to our Pokemon battle!" She said. "But, before that..." Bianca turned to look around and when she spotted the lady by the counter ran towards her. Touko watched as her best friend asked the lady something, and when the lady nodded, Bianca smiled and rushed back towards Touko.

"They said we can have a Pokemon battle in the gate as long as we're careful not to break the electric bulletin board." She said, and the two girls grinned, remembering their battle in Touko's house. "I'm the new-and-improved version of me! It's gonna go great this time! Let's start up our Pokemon battle again!" Bianca shouted excitedly and called out her evolved Lilli. Touko put down her sack and called out Imi.

"OK Imi, use Rock Smash!" Touko called out. Imi ran towards the Herdier and used her fist to hit him on it's body. Lilli slightly whimpered before using Odor Sleuth on Imi.

"My Pokemon and me! We trained and got tough!" Bianca told Touko. Touko's grin got wider, happy that Bianca was confident.

"Imi, use Rock Smash again!" Touko called out. Imi ran towards Lilli again and this time, hit her on its head. Lilli growled.

"Lilli, use Take Down!" Bianca ordered. Lilli got herself ready to attack and was about to pounce on Imi, but Imi evaded the attack with dexterity. Bianca frowned.

"Imi, you know what to do!" Touko told her. Imi nodded and headed once again to the unexpecting Herdier and hit her once again on it's body. Lilli fell and Bianca looked at her Pokemon in worry as it tried to stand up.

"Lilli, Take Down!" Bianca ordered. The weakened Lilli got ready to pounce at Touko's Imi and began to run towards her. Touko's eyes widened.

"No Bianca! Don't-" but by the time Touko managed to say anything else, Lilli had attacked Imi harshly, and found itself colliding with the ground as well. Imi stood up, exhaustion beginning to show, and both trainers watched to see whether Lilli would stand up as well.

Lilli had fainted. Bianca's excited face slightly frowned before recalling Lilli back. She thought of it for a while before sending out her Munna. Touko kept Imi in the battle.

"Imi, use Bite." Touko said calmly, hoping that Imi wouldn't hurt Bianca's Munny too much. Imi began to run towards the floating Munny and jumped just in time to bite on its foot. Munny winced and Bianca immediately ordered her to use Psybeam.

Munny began to glow before letting out blue and purple waves towards Imi, and Imi fell back. Touko thought Imi had fainted until her weak Pokemon slowly, but steadily, stood back up. Touko grabbed her bag and brought out a Super Potion and sprayed it on Imi. She quickly went back to her position as Munny attacked with yet another Psybeam.

Imi got hit again, falling back. As she tried to stand up she began to walk sideways, as if she was dizzy, and Touko realised that Imi had gotten confused.

"Imi... Imi... focus and use Bite." Touko called out. Imi stood still for a second before opening her eyes. She focused her gaze on the Munna before slowly making her way towards the foe. Munny looked at the confused Imi who was standing right below her. Imi grinned before jumping up on top of Munny and biting her back. Munny let out a cry of pain.

Munny fell down on the ground and fainted, and Imi let go of the Pokemon. Bianca recalled her Munna while Imi walked clumsily back towards Touko. Touko called back Imi by her side in order to let her rest and called out Rior. Touko's eyes drifted back towards Bianca who had called out Aqueous. Aqueous had evolved as well, and was now taller and more fierce looking.

"OK Rior, it's your old friend. Let's show Aqueous how much stronger you are. Use Leaf Tornado!" Touko commanded. Her Servine stared at the Dewott before sharp leaves began to surround him. Aqueous looked at Rior innocently, and before he could react, Rior had sent the leaves spiraling around him, hitting him everywhere.

Aqueous fell to the ground panting, but stood back up and stared at his old friend. Aqueous grinned.

"Aqueous, Focus Energy!" Bianca ordered. Aqueous stopped grinning and closed his eyes, and Touko could see blue lights around him as he began to focus.

"Rior, use Vine Whip!" Touko ordered. Rior was behind Aqueous before anyone around them could realise and whipped him with his green tail. Aqueous fell on the floor and didn't stand back up. Touko and Bianca watched surprised as Rior helped Aqueous up and turned towards Bianca. The two friends looked at each other before grinning.

Bianca recalled Aqueous before sending out her fourth and final Pokemon, the one Touko had yet to see. Rior was walking back towards Touko and she felt someone tugging on her shorts. She turned her head to see Imi looking at her pleadingly.

"What is it? Are you ready to fight again?" Touko asked her Pokemon. Imi nodded and when Touko turned her eyes towards Rior, he was already standing in front of her, staring up at her. He moved his eyes to Imi and nodded, and Imi took his position excitedly.

"Whoa... Pokemon communication..." Touko muttered under her breath. She looked towards Bianca again and saw that Bianca had called out a Pansear.

"Cool Touko! It's your Imi against my Pyro!" Bianca said in excitement. Touko raised an eyebrow.

"'Pyro'? You named... your Pansear... Pyro?" Touko asked her friend. Bianca nodded her head rapidly.

"Yes! I thought of it the same way with Aqueous! It's because he's a Fire-type! And... and... Iris and that guy Chili told me the word 'pyro-' had to do with fire!" Bianca explained. Touko began to laugh and Bianca looked at her confused.

"You're amazing Bianca." Touko told her, and Bianca grinned. "Alright, Imi, you know what to do." She said to Imi. Imi nodded happily before hopping towards the Pansear. She smiled at him before shooting water right on his face.

Pyro was taken by surprise and the strong shot of water that Imi used sent him back behind Bianca. He tried standing up, his eyes still fixed on Imi, before he fainted. Imi looked at the Pansear worried before turning towards Touko.

Touko ran to Bianca's side as she held her Pansear up. Bianca seemed sad and disappointed as she turned towards her friend.

"I trained with Iris... But I still couldn't win..." she said and turned her back at Touko who looked at her friend in worry. "I'll never be a strong Trainer like you or Cheren or Iris, but..." suddenly she saw Bianca turn to the electric bulletin board and smiling.

"You know, since we left Nuvema Town, I've met a lot of people and I've been thinking about what I want to do in life!" Bianca said, hope dripping in her voice. Touko's face lit up. Bianca turned her head to look at Touko.

"When you look at it that way, Pokemon have given me a lot of new experiences." She explained. "Having my Pokemon stolen was just really hard, and I felt really unsure..." Touko's face slightly fell to a sad one but Bianca grinned. "Still, I gotta say I'm really glad I went! I've learned so much on this journey. And I also learned that being with Pokemon is really, really important!" She said happily.

"Bianca... I'm really happy... I'm glad everything worked out." Touko told her. Bianca hugged Touko tightly before turning away.

"OK, well, it's getting late and I have to heal my Pokemon in order to get back on the road! I want to still be ahead of you, you know!" Bianca winked at Touko and Touko laughed. "I hope to see you again soon! Bye-bye, Touko!" She said, and Touko waved goodbye as Bianca returned to Castelia City.

Touko looked at the electric bulletin board and found out that it was almost six thirty. She put on her jacket and her goggles on her head before slowly making her way out again into the desert. Night, or no night, she was determined to get to Nimbasa by the next day. As she walked down the unfinished road of Route 4, she saw a familiar boy standing there and grinned. She walked to him and tapped him on his back. Like Touko, he was also wearing a jacket, but had kept his glasses on, squinting as he turned to recognise her.

"Hey, Touko. I've been waiting for you to get the Insect Badge." He said, and Touko could see through the sand getting in her face that he was smirking.

"Wait a sec... you're that guy I saw standing here hours ago!" Touko said. She hid a grin as she saw the surprised expression on Cheren's face.

"What? You came here?" He asked her. Touko nodded.

"I passed by there," she pointed to her left at the sand. "And caught a new Pokemon. You can't be the only one with a Fire-type, can you?" She told him, and Cheren grinned.

"Yeah, I was here but don't think I've been standing here waiting for you all this time. Of course I stayed at the gate." He said, covering up on himself quickly. Touko raised an eyebrow. Cheren cleared his throat and fixed his glasses before looking at her again.

"And now it's time to see which one of us is the strongest Trainer!" He said. Touko rolled her eyes before she walked a few steps back and sent out Imi. Cheren called out a Pidove.

"Cheren! Are you insane? Battling with _these_ Pokemon in _this_ sandstorm?" Touko shouted to Cheren.

"A good trainer can battle anywhere Touko!" He shouted back. Touko sighed and ordered Imi to use Water Gun. Imi ran to the bird Pokemon and shot a clumsy wave of water at the Pidove.

"Keen, use Leer!" Cheren's Pidove leered at Imi, but Imi had been too busy being buffeted by the sandstorm. "You seem to understand the importance of the first attack very well." Cheren shouted out at Touko.

"Imi, Bite!" Touko shouted. Imi ran as fast as she could towards Keen and bit on one of his wings. Keen flinched from the attack and struggled to get Imi off instead of listening to Cheren's command.

"Water Gun again!" Touko commanded. This time, Imi shot a strong wave of water at the Pidove and Pidove fainted from the impact. Cheren didn't say anything and simply recalled his Pokemon. He sent out his next Pokemon, who to Touko's surprise, was a Pansage named Lutto.

"Hey cool! Now all three of us have the three elemental monkeys, just like the Striaton trio!" Touko shouted at Cheren. He grinned. "And I see you still use their abilities to name them! Except... 'Pard' of course!" She shouted. Touko thought she saw Cheren laughing from the distance but she cleared the sand from her goggles.

"OK then! Come on out Arman!" She called back Imi and called out her Darumaka. "He wants to show off his new Pokemon... I'll show mine too..." she said silently. Cheren's eyes widened as he saw the Darumaka standing in front of his Pansage.

"Arman, use Fire Fang!" Touko called out. Arman slowly made his way to the Pansage who was eyeing him and grinned.

"Lutto, use Bite before he attacks!" Cheren shouted. Arman took a step back as Lutto jumped on him and bit his hand. Arman's usual zen expression turned into an angry one and he glared at Lutto. He jumped on Lutto and bit his head with his Fire Fang, and flames began to burst around the Pokemon.

Cheren gave a low growl under his breath as he called back his Pansage. He looked at Touko for a while and sighed. He didn't want to lose to her again, he couldn't possibly lose to her again. Cheren knew that he knew more than she did, that he had always been ahead of her throughout their whole journey. He took out his next Pokeball and called out the evolved Pard.

Touko watched from her side of the battlefield as Cheren called out Pard, who had evolved into a Liepard. She hid a grin from her friend, as she called back Arman and sent out Saw. Touko watched as Cheren's eyes widened.

Saw was obviously at a type advantage against the Liepard, and Cheren frowned. Touko was celebrating in her mind, glad that she was able to surprise Cheren once again. She had caught Saw after her last battle with Cheren, so he couldn't have known that she had a Fighting-type Pokemon.

"Alright Saw, this is easy!" Touko told her Sawk. "Saw, use Double Kick!" She shouted. Cheren watched wide eyed as his Pard got kicked fiercely twice and fell down. Cheren was losing to her once again... he now knew what all four of her Pokemon were but... he still couldn't understand why he couldn't beat her. He recalled the fainted Liepard and sent out Pignite. Cheren had expected Touko to call out her Panpour, but was surprised when she didn't.

"You didn't think I'd play that way, did you?" Touko shouted towards him. Cheren smirked.

"Didn't you use the type advantage just now?" Cheren shouted back. Touko stuck out a tongue at him, but only to pull it back in her mouth as sand got in her mouth. Cheren watched and laughed as Touko tried spitting out the sand from her mouth.

"Oh please! Not only you get to show off your Pokemon!" Touko shouted. "Alright then! It's Fighting-type against fire and fighting type! Fair, no?" She said. "Saw, Double Kick!"

Saw ran towards Blaze and kicked him twice on the stomach harsh, pushing the Pokemon back. Saw began to jump up and down, expecting the Pokemon to faint. But Blaze grinned and ate a berry, restoring his health.

"Blaze, use Flame Charge!" Cheren shouted. Touko watched surprised as Blaze ran towards Saw in an incredible speed, while fire began to circle him. Pignite stopped right in front of Saw and instead threw the full force of the flames surrounding him towards Touko's Pokemon.

Saw took a step back as he allowed the sand from the sandstorm to get the fire off of him. He turned his gaze back at the Pignite, and Blaze seemed to be smirking.

"If I can bring out the power of my Pokemon, I can still pull this off and win." Cheren said to himself. He nodded before looking back up at the battle.

"Saw, don't let him escape again!" Touko shouted. Saw grinned, something the Pokemon didn't usually do, and began to run towards the unsuspecting Blaze. Saw turned around and faced Blaze again as his foot made contact with Blaze's face twice.

Thus, to Cheren's horror, Blaze fell back and fainted. Cheren walked to his Pokemon and recalled him, before turning to Touko and her Sawk who were approaching him. Cheren stood back up and gave Touko an impressed look.

"Impressive." He told her, and Touko smiled. "But why can't I win?" He said under his breath, hoping that Touko had not heard. But Touko had. Cheren sighed deeply before locking his eyes to Touko's, even with the sand by their faces.

"It's now clear to me. The reason you are so tough is the trust between you and your Pokemon." He told her. "But... that shouldn't be a problem. I can get more out of Blaze and my other Pokemon, too." He said, and Touko knew that it was intended for himself.

As the two stood there, Touko felt something vibrating by her side bag and took her Xtransceiver out. She answered the phone and saw that Cheren had answered his as well.

"Hello there!" A voice said. Touko stared at Cheren and he mouthed 'Professor Juniper' to her. Touko 'oh'ed and nodded.

"Touko, do you have a second?" The Professor asked her.

"Professor Juniper, do you need something?" Cheren asked before Touko could reply to the Professor.

"Ah, well. I called Bianca too, but I guess she didn't hear the call. I wonder what she's caught up in. Well, I suppose I'll just have to call her again later." The Professor mumbled, and Touko looked at Cheren to see his face looking annoyed. She hid a giggle.

"OK! I'll be waiting for you two in front of the gate to Nimbasa City!" And then the connection to the Professor's call began to produce parasites and Cheren looked at Touko.

"... Um, hello?" He called through his Xtransceiver. But the line was already gone, and the Professor had already hung up. The two teens closed their Xtransceivers and put them back in their bags.

"Nimbasa City's gate is straight down Route 4." Cheren explained. Touko nodded. "I'll be going ahead of you. Don't be too late." He said, and Touko laughed. She watched as Cheren disappeared in the desert and out of her sight.

Touko called back Saw and began to make her way along the road after Cheren. She saw a worker standing just at the end of the road before the sandy areas.

"Deep in the desert ahead of here, at the Desert Resort, there are some ruins that have become a little tourist destination!" The worker told her and he pointed towards where the Resort was and where the road to Nimbasa was.

As Touko made her way slowly through the desert, she grew frustrated as she encountered angry wild Pokemon like Scraggy who attacked her and travelers who were in the desert and wanted to challenge her.

Touko continued to walk through the desert until she finally came across the continuation of the road. Feeling relieved to see cement again, she ran towards the road before looking around. She began to walk faster through the road, hoping that she'd see the gate soon.

Soon she saw buildings and more people, as well as the highway passing above. Touko groaned as she saw the road ending again and leading to another desert area. But she continued to walk, and as she saw mountains surrounding the small desert area, she began to worry whether she had taken the right path.

As soon as Touko saw the gate however, she jumped from joy and ran straight towards it ignoring the sign in front. When she walked in the gate, she was surprised to see the place almost empty. There was only the lady by the counter, a few groups of people sitting on the tables and the electric bulletin board.

Touko's eyes widened in horror as she watched the words and the pictures that were flashing on the board. It was already nine forty in the night and she wasn't standing on the gate that led to Nimbasa City. She had been heading towards the Desert Resort this whole time. Touko slumped on a seat and stared at the floor.

She had taken the wrong road.

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_**I'm really happy that there are new updates on the PokeSpecial manga. I've bought myself the first two-three volumes, but I stopped after that, so I'm glad that I'm able to read them online. And HG/SS arc is up too, so I'm uber excited! I really like the manga characters, so I'm reaaally hoping I can work up something with them. Oh well... that's a lot of words for someone who does little action xD**_


	13. The Sandstorm

**_When I first wrote this chapter, I had intended to make the journey through the ruins even longer. However, since I really didn't know what else to write (and for most of the people who have played the game, you know the ruins are important later on) I just wrote this chapter to introduce the place itself. So, here's for Touko's stupid mistake!_**

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Touko tried to call Cheren for the fifth time, only to hear the beeping of the call having no network. She rolled her eyes. Of course there was no network. She was in the middle of nowhere. Touko looked around and asked the lady at the counter if there were any phones. The lady pointed to a phone at the corner and told her it connected with the gate to Nimbasa. Touko thanked her and headed towards it.

Touko pressed the button that called the gate to Nimbasa and a lady, similar to the woman at the counter she was currently at and wearing the same uniform, popped into the video screen and answered.

"Hello? May I help you?" The lady asked. Touko sighed.

"Yes, I was actually wondering... whether you can... connect me with someone at the gate there." Touko explained. The lady smiled.

"Of course, may I please know their names?" She asked Touko.

"Um... Professor Juniper?" Touko suggested. The lady's face lit up.

"Oh! Of course! Of course! Professor Juniper has been waiting here for about an hour with a young man. I'll connect you right away." The lady said, and the screen went black.

Touko bit her bottom lip. She was sure that Cheren would either be mad at her or make fun of her for losing her way. Soon, the screen turned on again and Touko watched as the faces of Cheren and Professor Juniper appeared on the screen.

"Unbelievable Touko. Truly unbelievable. There's a reason why your mother gave you a Town Map, you know." Cheren told her. Touko saw that he had taken his coat off.

"Now, now Cheren. It's alright. Touko, are you going to be staying there?" Professor Juniper asked her. Touko nodded.

"Yes, for tonight. I can't walk back now because it's getting late and all my Pokemon are exhausted." Touko replied to the Professor. Touko looked at Cheren's image on the screen and saw his lips curl into a smile.

"Don't even think of saying something." She warned Cheren. Cheren put his hands up and shook his head. Touko stuck out a tongue at him.

"Yes, because that's definitely going to get you here." Cheren told her. Touko frowned.

"Well, alright then. I will be staying at Nimbasa for tonight. I will be here tomorrow morning at seven waiting for you." Professor Juniper told her.

"OK Professor, thank you." Touko replied.

"As for you Cheren, you will have to wait until Touko is here." Touko saw the Professor telling Cheren. Cheren sighed before turning towards Touko again.

"I guess that's how it is. Have a good night Touko." Cheren told her. Touko smiled.

"Thanks. Goodnight Cheren. Goodnight Professor." Touko said, and the screen went black.

Touko went to sit on one of the tables. She looked at the doors leading towards the Desert Resort. She sent out her Pokemon and gave them food. Touko's Pokemon happily accepted their food and munched away quickly.

She looked at the door again, and remembered what the people she had passed told her about the ruins at the resort. Taking one last look at the board and finding out it was ten fifteen, she walked out of the gate towards the Desert Resort, promising herself she wouldn't get in trouble and be back as soon as possible.

But where such luck. The first trainer she battled was a doctor named Jerry. He was close to the entrance and explained to Touko that he helped heal the Pokemon of the trainers at the Resort. After defeating him, he offered to heal her Pokemon and told her that if she needed to heal them again, she could simply find him for it.

Touko began to question the name of the area. 'Desert Resort' was definitely the wrong name. Touko had had to battle trainer after trainer and wild Pokemon after the other, and although she had gone back to the doctor after a few times, when she got really far into the desert, she had to use her different Potions to heal her Pokemon.

Touko began to run when she saw the formation of old ruins ahead of her. Ruins or gates or whatever, she simply wanted to get away from the sandstorm as soon as possible. As she approached the ruins, she saw five different sculptures. She slowed down and stared at the statues before hurrying inside the ruins.

The underground ruins were lit by many lights around the walls. Touko took off her goggles but kept her coat on as she walked down the slopy sands. She saw many people inside, and a man by the entrance explained to her that if she stepped on the quicksand, she'd fall to the lower floor. Touko decided to call out Arman and Rior to walk next to her.

It didn't take her long to find out that even inside the ruins, trainers seeked to battle. There hadn't been any officials to warn them, so Touko accepted the psychics' challenges, being careful as to avoid causing any serious damage.

As Touko continued deeper into the ruins, a man stopped her.

"Trainer! You still can't move ahead 'cause there is so much sand! I will do my best to remove the sand. Give me a second!" The worker told her. Touko stepped back as the man continued to look around. Touko sighed before turning to leave.

"Excuse me." Touko turned to see a girl with a large travel back pack. She approached Touko with a weary smile. "I've been carrying two Pokemon Fossils, but they're just so heavy... Would you take one of them off my hands?" The girl spread her two hands, each holding one fossil.

"Re-really?" Touko asked the girl in disbelief. The girl nodded.

"Well... OK... I'll take this Fossil then." Touko pointed to the girl's right hand at the Fossil that

"Oh, you like the Cover Fossil?" The girl smiled as she handed Touko the fossil. "I heard it is the Fossil of a Pokemon that used to swim in the ancient sea!" The girl explained. Touko thanked her before carefully making her way out of the ruins.

She hadn't gone far, and returning to the sandstorm didn't make her feel any better. Touko decided to head back at the Resort's gate and rest. The lights at the gate were dimmed, and when she entered, she saw that there were many people resting by the tables. The electronic bulletin board was still on and Touko found out that it was almost two in the middle of the night.

Still feeling the adrenaline of traveling under the harsh weather, Touko exited the cave and made her way slowly towards the right gate to Nimbasa. She'd rest once she got there, and the Professor and Cheren wouldn't have to wait for her.

Touko was frightened of the desert in the middle of the night. The sandstorm still continued but darkness had enveloped the entire area. She followed the path from the gate towards the unfinished road and once she got there, Touko took the correct road that would lead her to Nimbasa.

There had been barely anyone on the road at the time, and as soon as Touko saw the dim lights of the gate, she began to run. She entered the silent gate and saw that there had been people resting there as well.

The lady by the counter had been asleep but woke up as soon as Touko had entered. She had recognised her and offered her a table with a coach by the window in order to let her rest.

Touko let out her four Pokemon in order for them to rest with her, after asking the lady if it was okay. The lady had nodded before going back to where she had been resting. It didn't take long for Touko to fall asleep.

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_**I'd never really made a serious consideration on what kind of Pokemon would have, or should have. I kind of went with the flow, really. Unfortunately, right now I'm forced to play the game on an emulator 'cos of several reasons. And I lost the Zorua I gained. Which kind of pisses me off. But anyway xD Buut.. I'm still trying to continue it, 'cos I feel like I can actually make it 'till the end. Who knows?**_


	14. Revelations

**_I think there are another two or three chapters (I feel like I've said this before..) before I put this story on hiatus. I'm currently sick right now, so it sucks. I was hoping I'd get to work on the story, but I have to studyy. The life of a student is hard right? Right... I'm just a total nerd._**

**_Sidenote: I got really bored, so I decided to upload another chapter today.  
_**

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"Touko... hey Touko... wake up..."

Hearing the voice, Touko slowly opened her eyes. She jumped back on the coach as she saw Cheren's face centimetres away from hers. Cheren began to laugh.

"Good morning sleepyhead." Cheren told her. Touko sat up and yawned.

"Not funny... Cheren." She replied. Touko looked around and saw her Pokemon eating at a nearby corner. People were already awake and were entering and leaving the gate. "It's busy here..." Touko observed.

"Of course. It's eight thirty." Cheren informed her. Cheren watched as Touko looked at him in surprise. He laughed and nodded. Touko grabbed her sack and headed towards the gate's bathroom.

When Touko came out, she had fixed her hair and had placed her jacket and goggles inside her sack. She looked towards where Cheren and Professor Juniper were waiting for her.

"Hello, Touko!" Professor Juniper waved.

"Come here." Cheren told her, and Touko walked towards the pair. She stood next to Cheren and turned her head to glare at him. He looked back. "What?" He asked.

"You could have woken me up." Touko whispered to him. Cheren rolled his eyes before turning back to face Professor Juniper.

"The lady at the counter told us of your oh-so-smart decision to arrive at the gate in the middle of the night. You're nuts, you know that right?" He told her. Touko continued to glare at him and he sighed. "The sandstorm's terrible at night. I'm just glad you're alright." He whispered to her and Touko grinned.

"Alright, so, I was going to tell you two yesterday, but I guess it's OK today as well." Professor Juniper began. "Elesa called and was asking me all about Electric-type Pokemon, and I thought about you guys. That's why I wanted to see you. Ta-da! Freebies for you!" And the Professor walked to the duo. "Here, Cheren! You, too, Touko."

Touko and Cheren looked at their hands at the couple of Balls that the Professor had given them. Touko looked at Cheren and he tilted his head to the Professor. Touko turned.

"If you see a Pokemon that you want to have join you, be sure to use a good type of Poke Ball. Because this could be the first and last time you see that Pokemon!" She explained to Touko about the Ultra Balls. Professor Juniper sighed.

"I know it might seem strange for me to say this, since I'm the one who asked you to complete the Pokedex, but please, remember to enjoy your journey!" She told them. "Of course, I'm not saying you can just neglect the Pokedex. But you know that!" Professor Juniper said. Touko felt a strong tang of guilt in her chest at the Professor's words. "Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have to go meet Bianca." The Professor said and Cheren and Touko waved goodbye as the Professor headed back towards Route 4.

"It seems the Professor gave us the Pokedex as a reason to send us on a journey. At least, that's what my mom told me. They wanted us to go out and finally see the world, so my mom, Bianca's mom, and your mom made a request to Professor Juniper. A favour more like, since we're already this old, and we could have had our chance four years ago." Cheren explained to Touko. He turned to Touko and saw the sad expression on her face. "Touko, what should we do now?" He asked her.

"I... um... say, Cheren... is it bad that I... haven't been very... well... see... the Pokedex... and the journey, and... and, and..." Touko turned to face Cheren. He was staring at her with a smile.

"Don't worry too much about it. You still fill the Pokedex by seeing the Pokemon, right? And you're enjoying your journey, right?" Cheren asked. Touko nodded and he sighed. "I think I'd like to show the professor my thanks by going to Route 4 and catching some Pokemon I haven't yet caught." He told her.

"Oh... OK. I'll go ahead to Nimbasa." Touko said. Cheren nodded and waved goodbye.

Touko turned towards the entrance to Nimbasa and took a deep breath in. She knew that Cheren was right, but she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for not catching more Pokemon for the information in the Pokedex. At the same time however, Touko hadn't wanted to forcefully capture a Pokemon that she wouldn't be able to spend her time with. She recalled all her Pokemon but Imi. She sighed, and walked into Nimbasa.

Touko froze as she walked up the steps to the city. There were two Plasma grunts standing in front of an old man and were approaching him threateningly. Touko slowly walked towards them and overheard what they were saying.

"Gramps! We know you run the Day Care!" One of the grunts exclaimed. The old man began to stutter and the grunt chuckled. "How do we know? Because we're Team Plasma!" He said.

"We are taking Pokemon away from people." The other grunt began to explain. "Since you work at the Day Care, we figure you must have a lot of Pokemon! Hand 'em over!" He demanded. The old man looked at the two astonished.

"What kind of nonsense is this?!" He shouted towards them. He turned to look around for help and noticed Touko. Slipping away from the gazes of the two grunts, the old man ran towards her. "Oh! A strong-looking Trainer! Please help me!" He pleaded her.

Touko's eyes had not left the scene. She was mad once again, it was the same kind of fury which she felt every time she came face to face with Team Plasma. She looked at the poor man before she turned towards the two grunts who were approaching her.

"If you're going to get in our way, we'll take your Pokemon, too!" The grunt shouted and called out a Watchog. Touko gave him a sly smile.

"Scald, Imi." Touko ordered. Imi's eyes darted towards the Watchog before she took a very deep breath. She gushed out a strong blow of steaming water at the Watchog, who turned red before proceeding to use Crunch on Imi. Imi winced.

"Again Imi." The old man looked at the expression on the young girl's face, confused. She was strong, he was sure of it, but at the same time, there was some kind of menacing anger that was rising in her expression. Imi shot another blow of burning water at the Watchog and the Watchog fainted. The grunt growled before sending out a Trubbish.

"Imi, Bite." Imi approached the Trubbish disdainfully before biting it's head. She immediately let go and began to spit out and turned towards her trainer.

"Trubbish, use Sludge!" The grunt ordered. The Trubbish splashed purple liquid at Imi who winced upon touching it.

"Use Scald." Touko commanded. The Trubbish glowed bright red from the contact with the hot water and ran towards his trainer before fainting. The man took a step back and recalled his Pokemon.

"Plasmaaaa! Wahhhhh!" He cried out. Both he and the other grunt began to take slow steps backwards as their eyes locked with Touko's angry blue ones.

"This went downhill fast! So I think..." Touko took a step closer. They took one backwards. "We'd better..." And another step closer. And another backwards. "Ruuuun!" And the two ran away.

"Let's hide out at the amusement park!" Touko heard the grunt say just as they disappeared from her view. When they were gone, Touko turned towards the old man.

"Are you alright, sir?" She asked him. The old man nodded and smiled.

"Thank you so much! Please take this as a token of my gratitude! It's a brand-new Bike. I'd always planned on riding around Nimbasa City... But I never ended up riding it." Touko watched as the old man ran toward a pole and brought to her a bicycle.

"I have a Day Care on Route 3! If you have any Pokemon you want me to raise, please drop them off! I just came to sightsee, but I got in a lot of trouble!" He said. Touko thanked him before the man hurried away.

Touko's brand new bike had a basket at the front. She stood staring at if for a while before attempting to put her sack in it. The sack was too big though, so she looked around the bike again and found that it had a small metallic stand at the back. She tried riding on it with the sack at the back and grinned as she slowly began to ride away. Touko was determined to head towards the amusement park in order to find the grunts...

"Touko! Know what?" Touko turned around to see Bianca rushing towards her.

"Bianca? You're here... quick..." Touko said, but Bianca didn't seem to have heard.

"The professor told me," Touko began to wonder when and where that had been, "Nimbasa City has a lot of things to see and do - the amusement park, Big Stadium, Small Court, and the Battle Subway!" Bianca began to make turns round and round from happiness. "I'm going to go see the Pokemon Musical! See you later!" She said, and like she always did, Bianca was gone.

Touko sat on her bike as she looked at Bianca hopping happily away. She rose an eyebrow before remembering that she needed to go to the amusement park. Touko began to ride her bike to the city as she asked locals for directions towards the amusement park. The park hadn't been difficult to find as the large towering and well-lit gate showed its entrance. Touko rode through the entrance hastily before immediately stopping.

He was there. N was standing staring at the displays. Touko jumped off her bike, and before she could hold onto it, the bike fell. She turned to pick it up, her thoughts and actions distracting as a tall shadow began to approach her.

N had seen her. From the moment she had entered the gate, he had seen her. And he knew exactly what she was after. When the bike fell and she bent down to put it up, he walked towards her.

"You're looking for Team Plasma, right?" He asked her calmly. Touko looked up at the much taller boy who was staring at her.

"How did you know?" She asked him. N turned his back to her and pointed towards the amusement park.

"They ran into the amusement park. Come with me." He said and began to walk away. Touko initially hesitated to follow behind him, but as she saw his figure beginning to go far, she ran after him with her bike. If he knew where the grunts had gone, then he was her only choice in order to find them.

They walked silently, Touko behind him, until the very end of the park, where the large ferris wheel stood. N turned and began to look around before finally facing Touko again.

"They're not here." He stated. "Let's ride the Ferris wheel and see if we can spot them." N suggested. He went close to her and took hold of her bike, carefully placing it by the ferris wheel rails and bought tickets for the wheel. Touko followed him silently.

Touko didn't know what to say, or what to do. She had considered N to be some kind of threat to Unova, a boy with powerful dreams. She had never liked him, merely for his dream to 'perfect' Pokemon and split them from the humans. Touko had only met him a couple of times, and yet, she knew that he wasn't the biggest of her problems. Team Plasma was. Compared to the organisation, N was nothing but a boy who was fighting for his dreams. Touko considered that he was much like Cheren, when it came to following dreams...

They entered one of the coaches and sat opposite each other. Touko continued to stare at the boy as he looked out of the window. Imi had followed her trainer in confusion, and Touko began to feel one of her Poke Balls shaking. Without a warning, Rior called himself out of his Poke Ball and began to glare at N. N looked at the Pokemon again before turning back towards the window. Touko was confused, not understanding how Rior managed to get himself out. She recalled the confused Imi and held Rior in her arms.

"I love Ferris wheels. The circular motion... The mechanics... They're like collections of elegant formulas." N began to say. Touko remained silent. With Rior safe in her arms, she too began to look outside the window and stared at people below.

As they got higher, N turned his head towards the girl again. She was holding her Servine tightly in her arms, and the Pokemon was staring at him. The Servine was making low hissing noises. N could understand every single thing the Pokemon was telling him. His eyes turned to the girl's face.

Touko on the other hand, was wondering how she got herself into the Ferris wheel. She had been angry, and the only thing she was after were those grunts. Now she saw herself being raised higher by the wheel, and she continued to search around the people in hopes of finding them.

"First, I must tell you... I am the king of Team Plasma."

Touko froze completely. Rior's eyes turned from the boy in front of him towards his trainer in worry. Touko was no longer looking in the crowd. She was no longer thinking of finding them. His words were repeating in her head again and again, in the same silent but pleasantly harmonic voice of his. She didn't dare look at him. The ground was getting further and further away, as the coach began to approach the top of the Ferris wheel.

"Ghetsis asked me to work with him to save the Pokemon." N began to explain to her, his eyes never leaving her face. "I wonder how many Pokemon exist in this world..." He said, and his eyes turned to look at the horizon.

Neither of them said anything else as the coach began to go down again. As they approached the ground, N's eyes turned to Touko again and saw her quickly get out, finally letting go of her Servine. He followed calmly behind her as he got out of the coach.

Touko wanted to get away from him. She began to walk towards her bike, and when she spotted it, she turned to leave. But she stopped still again, as she found N staring straight at her. Their staring competition continued until the same two grunts ran to N in a hurry.

"My lord N!" One of the grunts shouted.

"You're safe, sire!" The other grunt cried out in relief.

N never moved his eyes away from the girl's blue ones as he began to speak to the grunts. "There's no problem. You're part of the people we brought in to help us save the Pokemon. So, you're under my protection, as well." He told them. "Go, quickly, and let my battle cover your retreat." He said.

The two grunts looked at each other before turning towards their king again. N had not turned to face them at all, and seeing his seriousness began to walk away.

"... Now then, Touko, do you follow my logic?" He addressed to Touko. Touko finally snapped out of her trance, and N watched surprised as her blue eyes filled with determination and anger.

"Of course." She answered back simply. N grinned slightly.

"If true, your words please me. Ah. Then... The future I envision... Perhaps I can't beat you here and now, but I'll battle you to buy time for these members of Team Plasma to get away!" And then the grunts ran away as their king called out a Sandile.

Although Touko was beginning to fill with anger, she could see that was also beginning to affect her Pokemon. Unlike before, she called back Rior, much to his surprise, and called Imi back out.

"Scald, Imi." She commanded calmly. Imi turned from her trainer to the Sandile before shooting extreme hot water at it. N didn't react as his Sandile began to turn red from the heat of the water and immediately fainted. He called back the Pokemon and called out a Darumaka.

"Imi, again." Touko said. Imi shot another blow of hot water at the Fire-type Pokemon. The Darumaka didn't get to respond and fainted almost immediately. Touko's eyes were fixed on N's blue-grey ones. N didn't care whether he'd win this battle, as he recalled the fainted Fire-type Pokemon and called out a Scraggy.

This time, Imi did not have to hear Touko say anything as she shot yet another blow of hot water at the Scraggy. The Scraggy merely budged before standing right back up and staring at the Water-type before him.

"Use Swagger." N ordered silently. The Scraggy swagged and Imi grinned. She felt confident before her mind began to feel dizzy. She tried walking back to Touko but failed to do so successfully as she tripped. "Your Pokemon look happy." N said to Touko. Touko did not reply.

"Imi, Bite." Imi tried turning towards her foe again. Like she had done the last time she was confused, she closed her eyes. She opened them again rapidly and focused on the Scraggy opposite her. She began to run as fast as she could and jumped on the Scraggy, biting him on his leg as he tried to avoid the attack. Scraggy flinched and fell back as Imi made her way clumsily towards Touko again.

"Now, Scald again." Touko ordered. Imi grinned as she felt her mind clearing again before smirking at the Scraggy. She shot a powerful beam of water at the Scraggy making him turn red from the heat. The Scraggy began to run around, trying to get some cold before turning his angry eyes at Imi again.

"Brick Break." N commanded. Scraggy made his way angrily towards Imi, and before Imi could react, he was behind her and had smacked her on her back with full force. Imi fell forward and cried out from the pain. Scraggy grinned and began to walk back towards N. Imi stood back up and glared at the Scraggy from behind, and without Touko's orders, ran towards Scraggy and bit him as hard as she could.

Scraggy let out a cry of pain before falling to the ground and fainting. Imi got off the Scraggy and turned her eyes towards N. Touko thought she saw N's eyes widen for a split second, but brushed it off as he called back the fainted Pokemon. He took one last Poke Ball from his belt and called out a Sigilyph.

"Even if I lose, is it different from the future I saw?" N said out loud. Touko could see it in his eyes, his deep thoughts and ideals. She didn't reply.

"Bite." Was all Touko had to say for Imi to understand. Imi began to run towards the hovering Pokemon and tried aimlessly to bite it.

"Air Cutter Sigilyph." N ordered. Sigilyph swooped down towards Imi and slashed her with a sharp blow from the air. Imi cried out from the pain before jumping on the Sigilyph and biting on one of its feathers.

Touko realised that the Sigilyph was much faster than Imi, so she silently began to ponder on her next moves. Imi was already tired from battling the previous three Pokemon, and if Touko pushed her to attack again, then she would surely faint. Deciding not to risk it, Touko called back Imi and sent out Arman.

"Arman, Fire Punch." Touko ordered. As Arman ran towards the Sigilyph, the Pokemon sent out blue and purple waves at him, hitting him straight on with its Psybeam. Arman stood back up and tried to punch the Pokemon, but Sigilyph managed to avoid it.

"Fire Fang." Touko said. Sigilyph attacked Arman with another Psybeam, and this time, Arman barely managed to stand back up from his confusion. Arman ran towards the Sigilyph even being dizzy and lunged unto the Pokemon. He bit Sigilyph on it's tail as the Sigilyph attempted to fly away, and then flames began to surround him.

When Arman got off of the Pokemon in flames, Sigilyph had fainted. N bent his head to hide his face with his cap before recalling the fainted Sigilyph. Touko did the same, recalling Arman back into his Poke Ball. The two stood silent for a few minutes before N looked back up and walked closer to her.

"The result was the same... But you... Who are you?" He asked, and Touko was taken by surprise by the look of confusion in the boy's face, something that she had never seen before. "You're quite strong." He stated before taking another step closer to her. Touko did not move.

"But I have a future that I must change. And, for that future..." N came as close as possible to Touko, and Touko looked up at his eyes. "I'll defeat the Champion and become unbeatable, unlike any other! I'll make all Trainers free their Pokemon! Just try and stop me!" He whispered to her challengingly.

"If you want to be together with Pokemon, your only hope is to collect the Badges from each area and head for the Pokemon League!" He said, louder this time. "Try and stop me there, if you dare!" He sneered at her before walking back, away from Touko. "If your conviction is not strong enough, you will never be able to defeat me." N told Touko as he turned and walked away.

Touko walked towards an empty park just ahead of the amusement park and sat on one of the benches. She looked out into the blue water and the green grass and began to think.

Touko was fifteen. She was born, and had lived in Nuvema Town for fifteen years with Cheren and Bianca. It was known all over Unova that children could have Pokemon and battle, but not travel, not until they were at least ten years old. When Touko and her best friends turned ten, they were not surprised when Bianca's father protested against the idea of them having Pokemon. True, her mother had Pokemon, and Cheren's parents had Pokemon... but neither Touko or Cheren had it in them to have Pokemon while Bianca didn't. So they waited. They lived, studied, and spent their days in Nuvema Town. That was, until eight days ago.

Touko had had dreams, when she first got Rior. She had wanted to travel, to live freely and see the world. Cheren had one goal in mind, to win the Pokemon League and prove himself to the world. Bianca started off slightly lost, but soon she got to understand her love for Pokemon and for new places. But as Touko travelled day to day, she began to lose that dream. That dream she had since childhood to see the beautiful parts of Unova, to enjoy her journey.

Professor Juniper had told her and Cheren to enjoy their journeys, as well as continue completing the Pokedex. But as Touko looked out into the water and to the grass around her, she realised that everyone had dreams to chase after, everyone had goals that they fought for. Professor Juniper did her best for her work, Cheren did his best to train, Bianca did her best on her journey and even N... even N did his best for his goals to liberate Pokemon. Touko had been travelling for eight days... simply travelling. She had merely caught four Pokemon, stayed at cities for a day or two, battled trainers and Gym Leaders and came across trouble.

It was the only thing that seemed to cross Touko's path on everyday of her journey. It seemed like Team Plasma popped out in every city that Touko found herself in. The commotion in Accumula, the trouble in the Dreamyard in Striaton, the robbers in Nacrene, the encounter with Ghetsis and his grunts in Castelia and now... and then it all clicked. Touko should have known, there had been many hints.

Of course N was their king. They had been after the same thing. Ghetsis, Gorm and the grunts had mentioned their king... Ghetsis and N had mentioned the legendary Dragon of Unova... Touko groaned in frustration. All the evidence had been in front of her the whole time, but she had not managed to connect the pieces. Touko called out Rior, who turned to face his trainer.

"Rior... there's something... there's something we have to do." She told him. Rior listened carefully.

"Team Plasma... and N... they want to seperate us and Rior, I can't allow them to. N has challenged me, and although he's... although he's way ahead of me, I'm not going to back down." Rior jumped on Touko's lap and stared at her.

"I _have_ to defeat N. _We_ have to defeat N. That's why Rior... that's why, you and I, like from the very beginning, you and I will try our best with our new friends. We'll all stick together and get to the Pokemon League. Be it we're in time or not, be it we lose or not, as long as you're with me, I'm sure we'll make it through." Touko said and exhaled. She stared into Rior's eyes intensely, and Rior nodded.

Touko grinned, before surprising Rior and standing up. She stretched her arms before turning to look at the amusement park again.

"Come on. Just because I've got a whole organisation to bring down doesn't mean I can't enjoy my journey. Let's go, Rior!" She said and began to run back towards the amusement park. Rior rolled his eyes before running after his laughing trainer.

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**_I remember when I first wrote this, I really liked it. I mean, I enjoyed writing this chapter and stuff. Now that I look back at it, I wonder why I didn't make Touko appear angrier or more frustrated. I might have made her _too_ calm. And it should have... been more dramaatic! Aw. Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed it :)_**


	15. Family Matters

_**I was wondering the other day which was my favourite city in Unova. I thought about it for a while before deciding that my favourite city is probably Nimbasa. No particular reason, but it's a place which can go anywhere. Speaking of locations, I saw that there will be new locations added in Unova in the next game. I'd have been fun if they made a game where the player could interchange between one region to another. Like HG/SS... that was an awesome game.**_

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It had still been early, and Touko decided to tour the city before heading to challenge Elesa. She had after all, just battled and was definitely not in the mood to another one. The first building after the amusement park had been a building called the 'Battle Subway' which Touko had immediately left for last. Near the center was something called the 'Battle Institute', and Touko frowned before walking away.

Walking through the busy streets of Nimbasa, she had come across a few people who offered her gifts. One boy had given her a Sun Stone, and he told her that it was a beautiful stone that would help certain species of Pokemon evolve. Another boy gave her a HM04 for Strength. An elderly lady had seen Rior and gave Touko a Soothe Bell, explaining to her that it helped her Pokemon warm up to her.

Touko crossed the little bridge over the river and saw the large building of the Big Stadium. She grinned as she saw several athletes standing by the door before entering. The lady at the counter told Touko that the athletes were practing on the courts and that trainers like her were more than welcome.

When Touko entered the court, she found, much to her disbelief, that the athletes had not only been training at their passes, but also at their battling skills. And to add to her misery, one athlete challenged her to a battle against his three elemental monkeys. Touko had no choice but to accept the challenge.

After defeating the athlete and speaking to the others on the court, Touko said her goodbyes and headed towards the Small Court. This time, a man warned Touko that some of the athletes may challenge her to a Pokemon battle, and after thanking the man, Touko decided to take her chances and entered the court.

There had been less athletes as there were two girls practicing tennis at the time. Only one tennis player challenged Touko, and Touko easily beat the athlete's Electric-type Pokemon.

Touko left the Small Stadium and headed towards where the musicals took place. She remembered that Bianca had planned on going there, and so Touko began to rush to the building next to the Big Stadium. Travelling around with the bike had definitely benefited Touko, because not only could she leave her sack on it, but she could also leave her bike just outside a building by a bike parking location.

Touko saw her blonde haired friend standing right outside the theatre, and after leaving her bike, Touko slowly crept up behind Bianca.

"Bianca!" She cried out as she jumped on her. Bianca turned with a start, surprised and alert at the same utime, until she recognised Touko's face.

"Ooh, Touko! Are you interested in musicals? Then, let's go in together!" And the way Bianca was, she took hold of Touko's hand and pulled her in the building. Rior, who had been walking alongside his trainer the whole time, stared at the two girls before turning towards Bianca's Munny who had been hovering by her trainer. The two sweatdropped before following their trainers inside the large building.

"A. Mazing. Isn't it?" Bianca asked Touko as they entered the colourful and bright hall of the Musical theatre. Touko nodded and the two began to walk in as a man noticed them. He eyed them for a minute before approaching them.

"Hello, you two! How do you do? I'm the owner of this theatre. Pleasure to meet you!" He said. Bianca and Touko introduced themselves as well and shook the man's hand. The old man stared at them before he realised something.

"Ooh! I must say that you two seem like phenomenal Trainers! What do we do here? We use Props to make your Pokemon fashionable and glamorous! Do you want to join in and play Dress Up?" Bianca nodded her head vigorously while Touko simply replied with a 'sure.'

"To get started, here's a Prop Case!" And he handed both Touko and Bianca a small box with a heart, Touko's pink and Bianca's green. "This Prop Case lets you store Props for decorating your Pokemon! First off, you need to pick a Pokemon!" And he waited for the girls to decide. Bianca happily choice Munny, and after getting a threatening glare by Rior, Touko picked Imi.

"Then... It's time to play Dress Up!" The old man said. He began to walk towards a counter by the entrance and showed the girls how to play Dress Up. The Prop Case already had basic props for dressup and Touko watched as Bianca gleefully dressed up the hovering Munny.

Touko turned towards Imi and began to debate on what she'd put. Imi was a fairly small Pokemon, so Touko decided against putting the 'leaf' style on her. She gave Imi a red parasol to hold in which Imi began to twirl round and round. After much debate, both Touko and Imi decided that for starters, she'd just begin with the red parasol.

Bianca though, had almost used most of the props in the case. Munny was now full of ribbons since her body structure didn't allow much use of the ties or the skirt. Munny also had a hat on, which didn't suit the style Bianca had in mind, but she stuck to it. Rior was standing in between the trainers and was trying his best not to laugh at Munny. Munny glared at him threateningly, and Rior immediately stopped, knowing that the Psychic-Pokemon could easily zap him with a move without anyone noticing.

"Wow! The two of you did a fantastic job coordinating everything!" The old man said. "Utterly charming!" He cried out as he inspected Munny and Imi. He turned to the girls again. "If you have a Pokemon who can play Dress Up, you can participate in the Pokemon Musical! Would you two please join us? The receptionist can explain everything. Let us say a brief farewell! I eagerly anticipate seeing you on stage!" The old man said before turning away and leaving. Bianca began to jump up and down from her excitement and turned to Touko.

"Oh, I don't know what to do! Doing the musical would be totally cool, but there's other stuff I wanna do." Bianca explained. "OK, that's it! I made up my mind!" She said to Touko, with her fist clenched in determination. "I'm going to see the sights in Nimbasa! See ya, Touko!" Bianca said, before hurrying away with Munny.

Having nothing else to do and seeing Imi's utter excitement with the parasol, Touko sighed before approaching the front desk. It was also because she'd feel guilty if she left the theatre and did not participate, while the old man had been so excited about it. Rior chuckled as Touko registered Imi in the A Sweet Soiree section. Touko, Rior and Imi followed the lady backstage.

"Welcome to the musical! I'm very pleased with your participation!" Touko recognised the old man who smiled at her and grinned back. "Participants for this musical are: Touko with Imi! Lima with Cheena!" Touko turned to see a girl with a Minccino. "Leon with Flyerl!" A boy with an Emolga. "And Kayla with Gothie!" A girl with a Gothita. "And the show you'll be performing is A Sweet Soiree. That is a popular show among women. Well, without further ado... Let's play Dress Up!" And everyone headed towards a corner with a table and a mirror.

As Touko began to dress up Imi, she began to wonder what her Water-type Pokemon would look like if she evolved. Touko's mind wondered back to the man in Castelia City's dock who had happily given her a Water Stone to help evolve Imi. Touko made a mental note to ask Imi at a later time whether she wanted to only thing that Touko added apart from the red parasol was a pink ribbon on one of Imi's ears. How Touko wished she had had two, to have one on both ears.

Touko turned to see how everyone else had dressed up their Pokemon. Cheena, the Minccino, had a red Christmas cap on, a red parasol as well, and a pink cape. Flyerl, the Emolga, had the most accessories. It had two flowers on its two ears, some kind of cape, and was holding something Touko could not recognise. Gothie, the Gothita, had a leaf on her one ear, a hat on her head, a pink ribbon on her chest, and was holding something that looked like a spear.

"I guess everyone is ready. Let's go up on stage!" The old man announced, and Touko wished Imi good luck as the trainers let their Pokemon on and they watched from backstage.

The crowd watched as the red curtains opened, revealing a sofa. Imi and Cheena enter the room and begin to dance, hopping up and down while smiling. When Imi reached the edge of the room, all four Pokemon simultaneously turned their backs to the crowd. Imi was the first to turn, and she showed the crowd her parasol and ribbon. Cheena, Flyerl, and Gothie followed after before they all began to dance again.

The group danced back and forth, in amazing coordination. Imi and Cheena danced together before turning and switching partners with Flyerl and Gothie. The crowd erupted in cheers as the Pokemon began to show off their moves. Imi grinned in satisfaction before they all simultaneously did a flip and bowed. The crowd cheered. The Pokemon hurried backstage to their trainers as the curtains fell.

"Good job!" The old man said. "It was a musical with some very exciting moments! By the way, I received comments for you from the audience. I am quite pleased. I will give them to you in order." He turned to Touko and began.

"'Touko's Dress Up performance was very cute!'" He read from a card. "'It was simple, so it wasn't highly noticeable... But I liked it! Keep it up!'" And he turned to Lima.

"'Lima's Dress Up performance was very cool! Watching your Pokemon's sharp moves, I also felt cool!'" He turned to Kayla, skipping the surprised Leon.

"Kayla's Dress Up performance was very unique! Watching your Pokemon's sharp moves, I also felt unique!" The man finally turned to Leon who was watching him in nervousness.

"Leon's Dress Up performance was very elegant! In this musical, it's not an overstatement to say that Leon's Pokemon was the lead role." And Leon grinned widely. The man smiled before turning to face everyone again.

"Thank you very much for participating in the musical today! Please join another musical again! Have a great day!" The man said and turned as the participants began to leave. He turned to Touko and smiled at her. "For your first time, I am impressed." He said.

"Thank you very much sir. Both Imi and I had fun." Touko said. The man laughed before walking out with Touko. The man showed Touko a picture on an electronic frame which showed the four Pokemon on their final pose. Touko laughed as Imi smiled at her prettyness. As Touko walked down the stairs towards the exit, she saw a bald man approach her excitedly.

"I'm so glad I got to see your Pokemon on stage! I'm overwhelmed with emotion! I'm not exaggerating!" He said as he turned towards Imi and talked to her. Touko laughed and thanked the man before turning away, recalling Imi as the Pokemon had begun to get too excited with the attention.

Touko and Rior left the theatre. Touko turned around to see that even though it was already noon, Nimbasa was still full of people, families with their children, couples, friends. Touko smiled. She turned to Rior.

"I'd like to see what you'd look like in a musical." She said jokingly. Rior stared at his trainer in aghast before turning away. Touko looked at her Pokemon beginning to leave and followed behind him as he went towards where Touko had left her bike. "Oh, come on Rior! I was only joking!" She called out. Rior stuck out a tongue at her and she laughed.

As Touko turned to leave the theatre on her bike, she stopped suddenly as she saw Bianca standing in front of a man. Touko's eyes widened as she recognised Bianca's father who was staring at her disapprovingly. Touko walked closer to her friend.

"Daddy?! What are you doing here?" Bianca said surprised.

"I've come to take you back home, of course!" Her father shouted. "Your mother told me that you'd made it all the way out here. Haven't you gone far enough?" He asked his daughter, and Touko could hear the tone of worry in his voice. Bianca took a step back from her father, a look of shock in her eyes.

"No way! I'm going to keep traveling with Touko and my Pokemon!" Bianca protested. Touko looked at her friend in surprise as Bianca turned to her, her eyes beginning to water with tears. Bianca had noticed her.

"Absolutely not! Others do things their way, and we do things ours!" Her father shouted, his voice getting louder per minute.

"Is that so?" Bianca grew serious before turning to her father in a look of absolute independence. "Then, how about you do things your way, and I'll do things mine!" She shouted and both Touko and her father looked at her in astonishment, having never heard Bianca speak in that manner before.

During the whole argument, a young woman had been watching. As she watched the blonde girl defend herself against her father, she finally decided to intervene.

"Sweetie, you keep going on your travels." She said. All eyes turned towards the approaching woman and confusion. Bianca's father looked at the blonde girl before returning to his angry manner again.

"Hey! Who do you think you are? This is a family matter!" He shouted at the girl. The young woman looked at the man in a serious face. She was a very tall girl, like a model. She was blonde, wore stylish clothes, and had long earphones just around her neck.

"My name is Elesa." The girl said. Touko's eyes stared at her as realisation dawned in. Elesa. _Of course_. "I'm this town's Gym Leader. I also happen to be a model." She told him. The man slightly flinched surprised. Elesa turned to face Bianca and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You know, there are many people in this world. There are people whose way of thinking may be completely different from yours. Sometimes, this means you may get hurt." Elesa explained to Bianca. Bianca nodded and began to wipe her tears away. Touko though, was standing, still staring at Elesa, and thought about her words.

"Of course!" Bianca's father continued. "That's exactly right! It's because I'm worried about that..." he said, in a tone that sounded almost silent. Elesa turned to him as she put a hand on Bianca's shoulder.

"But it's important to keep trying, to learn about the differences between yourself and others... To learn that being different is OK." she continued to explain. "And you shouldn't worry. Trainers always have Pokemon at their side. Pokemon are wonderful. It's not only how cute they can be, but also how much you can depend on them..." she said as her eyes finally turned to face Touko.

"Please!" Bianca begged her father as she went closer to him. "I know there's gonna be painful stuff like you're worrying about! I know! Really, I get it!" She told him. Touko knew she was right, Bianca had after all had her Pokemon stolen. "But, like, listen... There'll be tons of nice people, too." She continued, turning towards Elesa. "Know what else? Since I've been traveling with Pokemon, I've already gotten tougher, I can totally tell." And Touko knew that she was right. Bianca was at her best stage ever. "So... please?" Bianca pleaded.

Bianca's father turned to face his daugher's green eyes, and Touko could see the doubt beginning to rise. He thought of it for a few seconds, which had seemed like hours to Bianca. Seeing the determination in his daughter's face made him proud, so without thinking of it again, he sighed.

"Hmm... I guess." He finally said, defeated. Bianca's eyes shone. "If wanting to continue your journey is selfishness on your part, wanting to stop you is selfishness on mine. I'm surprised to find I'm the one being childish - at my age!" He said and laughed. He turned towards Elesa and smiled. "This Gym Leader's comments helped me wake up. Bianca, I'm sure it's better that you take the path you want to take now. I hope that your journey will be fun." He told her. Bianca jumped up from joy and hugged her father.

"Bon voyage!" Bianca's father told her, and she laughed. "Touko, please... Take care of my little girl, OK?" He said as he turned to face Touko. Touko momentarily snapped out of her thoughts and grinned. She walked to Bianca and put an arm on her shoulder.

"Of course Mr. Bel. You know you can count on both me and Cheren. Well, mostly me, but you know what I mean." Touko said. Bianca's father grinned and he turned to his daughter again, who was now smiling from ecstatic joy.

"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthan kyouthankyou!" She cried out from joy. Elesa grinned widely at the turn of events, but her eyes never left Touko's face, who had been smiling and laughing. But Elesa could see it in the girl's eyes that something troubled her.

"Papa, I'll come home after I find out what I really want to do!" She told him as he began to walk away. Bianca waved goodbye and stood beside Elesa as they all turned to watch him leave.

"I'm sure he traveled as a Trainer himself, in the past... Being a parent must be hard." Elesa said silently. She turned to Touko again before turning to Bianca with a smile. "Did I meddle unnecessarily? You looked troubled, so I decided to chime in." She asked the girl. Bianca shook her head.

"Not at all. Thank you very much Ms. Elesa." Bianca said, and Elesa grinned. She finally turned to face both of the girls, Touko now right by Bianca's side.

"By the way, if you're Trainers, please stop by the Pokemon Gym. I'll teach you a little something about how tough a journey can get." She said, winking at Bianca before leaving. Bianca turned to Touko and squealed.

"She's so cool! Hah! I want to be a totally cool woman like Elesa!" She exclaimed. "Mm. I wonder how I'll get there. Well, before that I guess I need to discover what I really want to do!" Bianca began to ponder, and Touko rolled her eyes. "Well, see you later, Touko!" Bianca said before rushing towards the inner part of Nimbasa City again. "And thanks a lot!" She heard Bianca say.

Touko decided that it was time to finally train her Pokemon for her battle against Elesa. Just ahead of the theatre was a gate that lead towards Route 16. She decided to train there for a while. At the gate, a man gave her a Macho Brace in order to help her train, and Touko thanked him. Touko decided to give her Pokemon new items as she called them out. She gave Saw the Macho Brace, who gladly took it to his hands. She gave Imi the Exp. Share, knowing that Imi would only get experience from her battle in the Electric-type Gym if she held the item. To Rior, she gave a Big Root, this time, something that she had found during her journey. Rior hesitated to accept it, before holding it and wrapping it around the tip of his tail. To Arman she gave an Amulet Coin, which she put around his neck to wear. When she was finally ready, Touko headed out towards Route 16 and began to train.

There was a Policeman on the very entrance of Route 16. Policeman Daniel sent out a Herdier. Touko grinned and sent out Saw.

"Piece of cake. Double Kick!" Touko ordered. The Herdier used Work Up just as Saw ran to it and hit it straight on in its belly. Touko expected the Herdier to fall faint, but the Policeman's Herdier managed to stand back up. "Again Saw!" Touko ordered.

"Take Down!" Policeman Daniel ordered. The Herdier growled at Saw before smashing right on Saw. Saw barely budged and the Herdier got hit himself and fainted. The Policeman recalled his Herdier and told Touko that she was more than strong enough to face the Route. Touko thanked the man before continuing.

Touko battled three trainers on the road before finally getting into the gate to Marvelous Bridge. There was a sign right before the gate saying:

'Marvelous Bridge ~ Truly marvelous! And also a bridge!'

Touko and Rior stared at each other simultaneously before bursting into fits of laughter. The sign was, after all, hilarious. As she continued biking, two men in workers' clothes appeared before her.

"They said Marvelous Bridge is being checked!" One of the men said. The other nodded. Touko asked how long it would take, but neither men could provide her with a specified date. Touko thanked them before biking back towards Nimbasa City.

As she biked back, she turned to her right to see a large boulder blocking a pathway. Intrigued, she decided to teach Saw the move Strength. Once he had learned the move, she asked him to move the large boulder. Saw began pushing the boulder until it suddenly fell into a hole. Touko and Saw moved towards the hole surprised, before walking around it to see what the hidden area was.

As she made her way deeper into the pathway, she met a hiker. The girl had her hair tied up and was walking along the path slowly while carrying a heavy looking red backpack. Touko greeted her and they began idle talk as they walked through. The girl, named Lora, turned to her.

"Because all roads are connected, I can go anywhere and challenge anyone!" Lora told Touko. Touko grinned. Lora was challenging her to a battle. She sent out Saw while Lora sent out a Pokemon named Swadloon.

"Hmm... Saw, use Double Kick!" Touko ordered. Saw slowly made his way to kick the Swadloon but failed. Saw looked between his trainer and the Pokemon before attempting to kick her again. Touko looked at Lora to see her grinning.

"Waddie used Protect. Protect doesn't allow Double Kick to work and so my Pokemon remains unharmed." Lora explained. Touko grinned back.

"Saw, again!" She quickly said. This caught Lora by surprise and she ordered Swadloon to use String Shot in hopes of slowing down Saw. Strings began to cover Saw's upper part of his body as well as his arms, and he only managed to kick the Swadloon twice slightly. Touko groaned. Fighting type Pokemon hadn't that much effect on Grass type Pokemon anyhow. "Again." She said.

"Waddie use String Shot again!" Lora ordered. This time the strings wrapped around one of Saw's legs. Saw grunted before kicking the Swadloon. Seeing that Saw probably could not move much further with all the strigns attached to him, Touko decided to recall Saw and call out Imi.

"'kay Imi, just Bite her." Imi nodded and ran quickly towards the Swadloon. She gave her a teethy grin before biting its back. Waddie fainted and Lora recalled her Pokemon back. Touko let Imi and Rior out as she and Lora walked to each other.

"I felt the bond between you and your Pokemon!" Lora said excitedly. "I keep traveling to forget my sadness..." she stated lowly as they walked together. "But the sad memory returns every time a season passes." Lora said sadly as she looked up at the sky. She turned towards Touko and smiled.

"I think I'll go to more places and experience more things. Touko, it was nice meeting you but I think I'll go elsewhere now." Lora and Touko greeted each other goodbye and Touko made her way deeper into what was appearing to be a forest. There were only a few more people, but Touko began to wonder about the Pokemon she, Rior, and Imi were encountering.

Touko pulled out her Pokedex and checked the Pokemon she had already seen. With her she had four different types of Pokemon and Touko sat and looked at them as she recalled Arman and Saw out. She wondered what other Pokemon she'd meet and catch.

At the very edge of the woods there was a trailer. A hiker informed her that he had travelled far and beyond, but the one living in the trailer was someone who didn't like company. Touko was not usually the kind of person who'd meddle in other people's affairs, but a trailer in the middle of nowhere was interesting. She knocked on the door. One. Two. Three. It opened.

There was a lady who opened the door. She stared at Touko with empty eyes. Touko found herself in an awkward position.

"Hello... my name is Touko. I'm... a trainer." Touko said weakly. The lady just continued to stare at her. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. I... was... just interested... um... you live... here... always?" Touko barely managed to say. The lady just continued to stare at her. Without warning, Rior walked into the trailer and looked around. "Rior!" Touko called out, and brushed past the lady to catch Rior.

The lady in the meantime was just staring at them. Touko took a quick look around. The room was pretty clean, but it seemed too organised and clean to be used. Touko looked back at the lady and gave her a weak smile.

"I'm very sorry for disturbing you. Um... Rior... apologise as well." Touko whispered to Rior. Rior however was glaring at the lady, something which Touko could not see. The lady averted her eyes to Rior and his eyes widened. Rior sighed and made a noise. Touko walked towards the door and exited before turning back.

"Well... it was um... nice... to meet you... miss... Um... goodbye then. Good luck with... um, everything." Touko said, and began to walk away. She didn't turn back until the trailer was barely visible under her eye. The door had closed, and it had regained it's hauntingly silent aura once again.

The lady however sat staring by the window. The girl had interested her. There was something about the girl, perhaps something that she had seen or experienced. And her Pokemon as well. The two had no ill intentions. But the lady knew she couldn't reveal anything, to anyone who was not her kind. And then she heard a cry beyond the deeper parts of the forest. She turned. Someone was in trouble. Someone she knew very well.

Before Touko knew it, the sun was slowly making its way down. She decided to head towards Nimbasa City and have her battle with the Electric type Gym leader, Elesa.

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_**The last part of this chapter was written when I had my Zorua. Oh Zorua... I was really looking forward to adding him in. Darn. But I'll figure something out with this. 'Cos I really love Zorua xD I think Zorua/Zoroark are my favourite Pokemon in Unova. No reason. So guess who's really looking forward to Pokemon B2/W2 ;) (if you know why, here's a cookie!) - I like Oreos.**_


	16. Nimbasa City

**_Elesa's Gym is awesome. 'nuff said. Although the one at Mistralton's not too shabby :D_**

**_I miss my PokeSpecial characters, so I'll be uploading another story soon. (Soon, in my words probably mean in a few weeks or even months. *sigh*)  
_**

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Elesa's Gym was probably the most spectacular one that Touko had seen so far. It was a large _roller coaster_. And what was more exciting? There were so many people around, trainers, children. Everyone was looking forward to the one that would challenge Elesa and win. And Touko sure had seen many trainers trying.

"So, how about it? I can see you're surprised!" Touko and Rior, the only one she kept out of his ball, turned towards Clyde. "Would you ever have guessed that this Gym is a roller coaster?" Touko laughed and shook her head. "OK, let me fill you in... And take this, too!" Clyde handed her another bottle of water and Touko thanked him.

"In this roller coaster Gym, the first step is to get in the car." He pointed towards the blue car, which she thought looked more like a capsule. "Next comes the platform! There, you can change where the coaster is going!" Touko looked around at the different platforms and nodded. "Sometimes you continue by riding the cars of opponents you defeat. That's how you aim for the Gym Leader!" He finished explaining.

"Thank you, for always showing me around the Gyms." Touko said. Clyde laughed.

"That wouldn't exactly be me. More like, me and my different family members around the region. We just have the same names 'cos we look alike. Just like Joy, you know." He said. Touko looked at him, initially shocked, before smiling. "By the way, Electric-type Pokemon don't do well against Ground-type moves..." Clyde hinted, before proceeding to the next trainer behind Touko. Touko began to wonder if it really was different Clyde's at the Gyms.

Thinking of Clyde's advice, she remembered she had one TM with the Ground type move Dig. She thought of her Pokemon and thought of giving Imi one advantage against the Electric type Pokemon.

The rides with the roller coasters absolutely amazed Touko. There were also more trainers that she'd ever had to battle at one Gym, but the adrenaline of the rides made battling even more exciting.

Touko had never been on a roller coaster before, so being on several rides now and battling at the same time was a first. The Gym had also been covered with cameras, so each battle was viewed on TV. The people in the Gym were shrieking from joy as the trainers all tried to beat the Gym trainers to get to Elesa. And now it was Touko's turn. She was one trainer away from battling Elesa.

Touko hopped on her final roller coaster ride before Elesa. When she landed on Elesa's platform she stared around her. There were several people and cameras and as she approached the arena, she saw a smiling Elesa waiting for her.

"Did the fantastic speed leave you dizzy?" Elesa asked her. Touko grinned and shook her head. "Let me formally introduce myself first. I am Elesa, this city's Gym leader. You, I believe were with Bianca earlier." Elesa said.

"My name is Touko." Touko simply said. Elesa grinned before nodding.

"Well Touko, my beloved Pokemon will be the next one to make your head spin!" Elesa said, and their battle began. Elesa called out a male Emolga and Touko called out Rior who was sitting on her shoulders.

"Dear Emolga, use Aerial Ace!" Elesa commanded. Touko's eyes widened. She had forgotten about the fact that Emolga was part Electric and part Flying. The unique kind of it's species. Emolga flew rapidly towards Rior and slashed him. Rior fell back in agony but stood up again.

"Rior, use Leech Seed!" Rior jumped on Emolga and seeded him. Once the seeds were planted around its body, roots began to form around Emolga's body, much to his surprise. As soon as the roots were settled, Emolga had no chance of getting rid of them, and Rior was slowly slowly absorbing the Pokemon's energy.

"You and your Pokemon... are shining brilliantly!" Elesa shouted to Touko. Touko's grin grew wider. The crowd erupted into cheers and Touko could barely even hear herself.

"I believe you're the shining star here, Ms. Elesa!" Touko replied back. Elesa laughed. "Alright Rior, she'll probably use Aerial Ace again. Try Leaf Tornado, alright?" She told Rior. Rior nodded.

"Aerial Ace again!" Touko's grin vanished as fast as it came, nervous with how Rior would be able to withstand the attack. But Rior stood, and he gathered several leaves he had scattered and had fallen and created a tornado. Rior aimed for the Emolga, but stumbled, and lost his aim. The Emolga gave a sly grin. Not willing to risk Rior losing any more power and fainting, she sprayed a Super Potion on him.

Elesa continued to order Emolga to use Aerial Ace on Rior, and Touko was trying her best to restore Rior's health and attack at the same time. But soon she didn't know if it could continue that same way for long. Emolga on the other hand, was still flying around, and gave no signs that he was exhausted.

Touko gave a low groan as Elesa used a Hyper Potion on Emolga. It wasn't that she wasn't expecting the Gym leader to do so, but she was so happy to be close to defeating the Electric type. She looked around, wary of the cameras, lights, and the people watching their battle. She'd have to win this one.

Touko and Elesa continued to battle, each using health potions to restore their Pokemon's health. Even Emolga and Touko's Servine were battling head on with Aerial Ace and Mega Drain.

"Rior, use Leaf Tornado!" Touko commanded. Emolga attacked with Aerial Ace again, and Touko began to wonder how much more one Pokemon could use the same attack in one battle. Rior's tornado hit Emolga this time, but Emolga barely budged. Touko used a Super Potion again. She wouldn't give up Rior, or this battle.

"Mega Drain!" Touko shouted in exhaustion. The faint lines on Rior were begining to appear from the constant attacks Emolga was hitting him with. Rior used Mega Drain, and Touko's eyes shone as the Emolga fell to the ground and was barely able to stand up. The roots around him also absorbed his power, and even though Touko hoped it would end the battle, the Emolga was still holding on.

"Argh, Leaf Tornado again!" Touko decided to risk the chance and ordered Rior to attack. Emolga attacked Rior with yet another Aerial Ace, and Rior tried to attack with his Tornado but missed. The roots squeezed Emolga again, and both Touko and Rior looked in relief as the Emolga finally fainted. Elesa recalled her fainted Pokemon and called out her next one. Touko's eyes widened. _Another Emolga_.

"Rior, can you handle it?" Rior only replied to his trainer by grinning, and Touko smiled. She sprayed a Hyper Potion on him before they turned back towards the battle. Like before, Elesa stuck to using Aerial Ace, but Touko's eyes widened to see how much stronger this female Emolga was compared to the previous one.

The same process began once again after Rior was successful in using Leech Seed. It was Rior against Emolga's Aerial Ace's, and of course, with Touko's health potion aid. Touko refused to give up on Rior.

Rior on the other hand, was more confident than his own trainer. It had taken him a long time to defeat the first Emolga, but now he knew the trick behind it. Touko didn't even need to command Rior as the two of them nodded and she allowed him to do as he wished. And before long, the series of Leaf Tornadoes Rior had been attacking with made the Emolga faint. Elesa smiled before recalling her Pokemon. She called out a Zebstrika, the evolution of Blitzle.

Touko was excited, thinking she'd finally win. But Rior wasn't in good shape as he walked back towards his trainer. Touko bent down, temporarily ignoring the cameras, lights, and the waiting Emolga on the other side of the arena.

"Tired Rior?" She asked him. Rior nodded and Touko recalled him to his Poke Ball. She stood back up and faced Elesa. "'kay Elesa. Meet Arman!" She said, and called out her Darumaka. When Arman came out, he stared around him at the people and lights before turning towards his opponent.

"A properly dramatic victory requires a dash of danger and a pinch of peril." Elesa told Touko. "Zebstrika, use Spark!" Elesa elegantly commanded. The tall Zebstrika didn't even need to get closer to the small Darumaka and sent a ball of electricity towards him.

"Arman, Fire Fang!" Touko ordered. Arman tried to shake off the electrical feeling surging through him and ran towards Zebstrika with his little feet. But he missed. Elesa ordered Zebstrika to use Spark again, and this time, Arman counter attacked with Incinerate.

Touko used a Hyper Potion on the now paralysed Arman, and the moment she went away, a fast shadow hit Arman and sent him flying back. Touko blinked and realised Zebstrika had used Quick Attack.

"Okay, this might be a good time to try that move." Touko said silently. "Arman, Facade!" She ordered. Arman, although paralysed, grinned. Touko wondered why but before she knew it, an electric spark attacked him. But Arman didn't budge. He looked straight into the confused Zebstrika's eyes and attacked. Zebstrika never saw it coming. Nor did Elesa or Touko.

Arman began to shake momentarily before he managed to move his feet and attacked Zebstrika with the strongest attack Touko's Pokemon had ever used. Of course it was strong. He was paralysed, and Facade was a perfect move to use at the time. Touko's face matched Arman's grin. Zebstrika had fainted.

The moment Elesa had recalled the fainted Pokemon and Touko's victory was announced, she ran towards her Darumaka. She picked him up and laughed. Arman couldn't do much to move since he was paralysed, but he gave his trainer a happy grin. "We did it Arman! You gave us this amazing victory!" She told him as the crowd erupted into deafening cheers. Touko saw Elesa approaching her.

"I meant to make your head spin, but you shocked me instead." Elesa said, barely audible through the crowd's wild celebrations. Touko and Elesa laughed. "My, oh my... You have a sweet fighting style." When she realised what she had said, Elesa tried to nervously cover up. "I mean, you're a great Trainer! Excuse me, I...uh... Oh, here! I want you to have this!" Elesa handed Touko her fourth Gym Badge, and Touko happily put it inside her Badge Case. Elesa smiled.

"If you have four Badges, including this Bolt Badge, Pokemon up to Lv. 50, including traded Pokemon, will obey you." Elesa explained. "Also, here's this move I like. Feel free to use it, um, if you want to." She handed Touko a TM72 for Volt Switch, and Touko thanked her. "Volt Switch lets the Pokemon switch with a different Pokemon after attacking. Of course, if you don't have another Pokemon in your party, you can't switch." She explained, and they both laughed again as they looked around seeing the people, cameras, and lights towards them.

"I'll go with you to the exit." Elesa said, as they rode the last roller coaster to the exit. "You're going to Driftveil City next?" Elesa asked. Touko nodded with a yup, all her Pokemon in their Poke Balls. "Of course. There is a Pokemon Gym there, after all. Oh... I bet you won't be able to get there. You know what?" Touko turned her head to the leader sitting behind her. "I'll fix it so you can cross. Wait for me on Route 5." Elesa said as they reached the entrance once again.

"I might stick around for a while longer." Touko explained. Elesa nodded. The two stood by the entrance as people looked at them and Clyde smiled at Touko.

"How much longer do you think you'll be staying?" Elesa asked. Touko shrugged.

"It's been a fairly long day, and there are two interesting facilities I have yet to visit. Plus, I've been told Anville Town is fairly nice and calming." Touko explained. Elesa smiled.

"I understand. Must have been a pretty rough day for you." Touko suddenly looked at the Gym leader's bright blue eyes, wondering whether Elesa knew about the day's incidents or not. "Tell you what, you can head to Anville Town on tonight's train. Saturday's are usually busy days to visit the town, but I'm sure you'll like it. It'll be a long ride, so I'll assume you'll stay there for a whole day?" Elesa asked.

"Um... yes. I'll be back the day after tomorrow." Touko replied. Elesa nodded.

"Then since I have to be there myself, I'll meet you at the entrance to Driftveil Bridge in two days time at 12 o' clock. Is that alright?" Touko nodded. Elesa smiled and thanked Touko one last time for the great battle.

Touko thanked Elesa before walking out to where she had left her bicycle. Several people in the crowd saw her and commented on her 'spectacular' battle, and Touko's face turned bright red as she thanked them. As she turned to find the exit, she saw the large ferris wheel. Touko remembered the time she had rode on it with N. It had been her first time on a ferris wheel, but now it was filled with unwanted memories. She shook it away and walked towards Gear Station.

Touko stopped her running up the stairs of the entrance when she saw a girl exiting. She was walking out with a somewhat gloomy expression on her face.

"I won!" She said. "Then I lost..." She followed after. She turned towards Touko. "Gear Station has trains where you can battle other Trainers. The Battle Subway!" She looked at the building before turning towards Touko again. "You're a Trainer, aren't you? Please just accept this without a word!" The girl handed Touko a blue device. "If you have a Vs. Recorder, you can record battles with friends or on the Battle Subway. Anyway, this woman of mystery will go somewhere... That's right! She'll go to the Battle Institute!" And with that, the girl was gone.

Touko tilted her head as her eyes followed the girl's retreating figure. The device was probably something she'd barely ever use, but she put it into her backpack nevertheless. When she entered the station, she was astounded. The area was circular, surrounding a large pole in the middle of it. She walked towards her right and signs for the different platforms.

Touko looked at the large clock by the station and figured it was already eleven fifteen at night. She ran towards platform for the rides to Anville Town. The guard at the gate told her that the next and last for the night ride was at midnight. Touko thanked him and decided to wander around the station for a while.

There was a man who asked her what her reactions were during battle and since it was still slightly early, she told him. Arman and Imi were walking alongside her and laughed at their trainer's responses while Touko began to blush. The man just smiled at her. When she finished and was making her way back to the platform, she had found out there were several different types of battle stations. Touko made a mental note to try the stations, and the Multi-Train if she ever had time with either Cheren or Bianca.

Touko rushed to buy a ticket for going and returning to Anville Town as the train began to approach. When she boarded, she found a coach and sat inside. As the train began leaving, there was no one else in with her, so she decided to call out Rior and Saw. Saw and Rior sat on the seat opposite them as Touko sat with Imi and Arman. The door opened and an inspector asked for a ticket. Touko showed him hers.

"Thank you very much for boarding this train to Anville Town. The time is now 12:20, and the trip will take about four and a half hours. We will be arriving early at about 5 o'clock. Have a pleasant trip." He said, and he closed the door. Touko sighed and looked out. The train was still underground. Touko decided she'd wait until they were outside and then decide to rest.

When the train resurfaced, Touko looked outside at the passing trees and the sky. The moon was shining brightly in the middle of the night. She looked around at her Pokemon. Saw had fallen asleep on the seat opposite hers while Rior sat staring at the window. Arman and Imi were sleeping, huddled together by the corner of her seat. She decided to move them by the window, and with the little space she had left, she lie down with her feet folded and went to sleep. Rior averted his gaze from the window to watch his trainer slowly falling asleep. He gave a slight sigh before looking out again.

And then a noise woke both Touko and Rior up. Touko sat up straight looking around before turning to look towards her Pokemon. Rior was also standing right up alert. They stared at each other for a while before Touko looked outside the window. Touko's breath cut short as she thought she saw the reflection of a shadow outside her couch door. She gasped and turned towards the door. But there was no one there.

The fright had definitely woken up Touko for good. She looked back towards Rior and her Pokemon looked at her in worry. It seemed to her that Rior had not seen anything. Touko pondered on whether she was missing some good sleep. But she couldn't sleep anymore. So she decided to reposition the sleeping figures of Arman and Imi and sat staring at Saw's sleeping figure. Rior decided to be by his trainer's side and Touko hugged him tightly as she stared outside the window.

Before she knew it, the train was slowing down. The sky was not as dark anymore, but the sun had yet to rise. She blinked once. Twice. Then she got out her Xtransceiver and saw that it was already four thirty. Rior had fallen asleep in his trainer's arms, and now her other three Pokemon were waking up. Touko woke Rior up as well as the train began to reach a station.

The whole night, Touko had been looking outside the window at the passing land. Touko was _exhausted_. It was the first time in the fifteen years of her life that she had pulled an all nighter just by looking outside the window. She sighed. She recalled all her Pokemon except the energised Imi and took her bag and her pack. Then she walked out into the station.

There weren't many people around, and she wasn't surprised to see that there were only a few passengers. There was a lady by the station and Touko approached her.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?" She asked the lady. The lady turned towards Touko and nodded. "Is there some place possible where I can stay here?" Touko said, and yawned. The lady stared at her for a while before smiling.

"There is a house right after the bridge that provides rooms for visitors. You may get one there if you'd like. It's the house with the blue roof." The lady told her. Touko thanked her before heading towards the house.

There was a man and an elderly woman at the house and a few guests. The man gave her a small room. She left her pack by the bed before she jumped on it. She called out her Pokemon with one hand and she watched as her Pokemon slowly stood up. She got food for her Pokemon out and put them in their bowls before she went to bed again. And this time, it didn't take long before Touko fell into a deep sleep.

This time no sound woke her up. And no sound was heard by none of her four Pokemon. But there definitely was a sound. The sound of the swift steps outside the window. The steps of the three figures in the shadows.

* * *

_**Yayayayayayay! I won this random contest thing the other day. I went out to celebrate and when I got back, I wanted to post a chapter. But instead I'll post two. Since I'm such a 'kind-hearted' girl. (*cousin laughing in the meantime*)**_


	17. The Champion

**_I was on this site called Omegle the other day, where you talk to strangers, and I laughed my ass off. People are very interesting. And disgusting. But that's a different story. So, I talked to this person who also liked Pokemon in general, and I came to realise I'm not quite the Pokemon fan that I thought I was. After all, s/he had... tons of stuff involving Pokemon. Ookay... well. Heh._**

* * *

Touko laughed as her Pokemon walked around happily. She had met many people, and had found out that there were several trainers willing to trade items. She herself had traded Poke Balls for Full Restores, a Starpiece for a PP U, a health remedy, and Escape Ropes for Revives. Her Pokemon were enjoying themselves with treats they had never eaten before.

Touko found a bench and listened to a guide working at the station explaining how the trains functioned. She looked up at the sky, and it was as any clear day as everyday. She had slept for three hours before getting up. Anville Town was indeed calming, but after spending a few hours going around the little town, Touko decided to head back on the 13 o'clock train to Nimbasa.

As Touko sat on the coach and the train began to move, she started thinking. During her stay in Anville Town, Touko had the menacing sensation that someone was watching her. However, she shrugged it off thinking that it was just probably because of the events the day before that shook her. A girl had entered the coach Touko was in, and during the four hour ride, the two engaged in talking about Pokemon.

Touko did not feel comfortable talking to the girl, however she smiled as the girl with the bright orange hair talked about her beloved Oshawott. Touko couldn't help but smile as she remembered Bianca and wondered where her two best friends were. She hadn't seen neither of the two in almost two days, but Touko found herself getting used to travelling alone.

At the station, Touko decided to try out one of the battle subways. Unsure of which one to try, Touko went to the platform for the Double Trains hoping she'd get to improve battling with two of her Pokemon at the same time.

At the entrance, a man asked Touko which Pokemon she'd enter. Touko held back a giggle as she chose the only four Pokemon she had, and she felt relieved not leaving any of her Pokemon behind. As she rode the train, she found that her first opponent was ready to battle her. Touko smiled.

"Hey, I'm Touko." Touko introduced. The girl smiled.

"You... You know, these Pokemon are my friends. I'm Coin, and I'll do my best! Go Pawni and Losi!" Coin sent out a Pawniard and a Solosis and Touko smiled as she sent out Rior and Arman.

"Say, is this really safe?" She questioned. A voice from a device began to speak to Touko's right.

"Absolutely miss. This train has been built especially for battling." The voice explained. Touko grinned.

"Alright then. Rior use Leech Seed and Arman use Fire Punch!" Touko commanded. Rior moved swiftly to the unexpecting Solosis and planted seeds on it's body but it did not make any effect. Meanwhile, Pawni attacked Arman and Arman countered back with Fire Punch, which led to the Pawniard's immediate defeat. Coin sent out a Panpour next called Panpo.

"Rior, Mega Drain on that Panpour and Arman use Fire Fang on Losi." Touko said. Her two Pokemon moved swiftly to their foes. Rior attaced Panpo from the back and began to drain his energy while Panpo counter-attacked with Scald on Arman. Arman glew bright red before fainting. Touko's eyes widened. It had slipped her mind that Panpour was a Water-type and Arman was a Fire-type. She sighed before calling out Saw.

"Losi, use Psywave!" Coin ordered. The silent Solosis sent waves straight at Rior who found himself slightly confused. But he stood back up and looked up at Saw.

"Leaf Tornado and Double Kick." Touko called out. Solosis sent another wave of psychic energy which surprised both Rior and Saw. Rior growled lowly before sending a Leaf Tornado towards the Panpour. Panpo scalded Saw who ended up burned, and he angrily ran towards the Panpour and kicked it, sending it to it's defeat.

Touko's battle continued, but soon she found herself on a dire straight as Coin's Trubbish called Trubbi and Losi made her victory difficult to come. She was forced to change Saw for Imi when Saw was on the verge of fainting. Touko figured she should have sent out Imi earlier as Imi used Bite on Solosis, who was now about to faint. Imi bit Losi again, and the Pokemon finally fainted. Now Touko had to be rid of Trubbi. Trubbi however, and the whol battle in general, seemed to be over as soon as Imi had entered the fight.

Rior was slowly absorbing Trubbi's health while Imi attacked the unsuspecting Trubbish with a modified version of her Dig; she went out of the window before hitting back the Trubbish. After losing, Coin showed Touko how to heal and how to continue. The battle went on from car to car. Touko decided to continue anyway.

Touko battled two more before forfeiting. It was almost eight at night and Touko decided to head towards the last facility she had not yet visited. The Battle Institute.

Touko found out that she was not yet allowed to battle at the institute, as the man in charge informed her that she would need more training.

Touko headed towards the Pokemon Center and after getting a room, she relaxed. Carrying a backpack and a normal pack around was a real hassle. She called out all her Pokemon and then she called her mother. She informed her mother that she'd need new clothes, and her mother told her she'd sent them by the next morning. Touko sighed.

She looked through her contacts. She wanted to call someone. Anyone. She wanted to speak to someone she knew. Touko missed her friends and family. She called the last person she ever expected she'd be in contact with.

"_Hello, hello! Burgh here._" The voice in the other line said. Touko smiled.

"Hello Burgh, it's Touko." She said silently.

"_Touko?_" He said. Touko frowned. He forgot her, _again_? "_Just kidding Touko, of course I remember you!_" He said with a laugh. Touko grinned. _"Is everything alright?_" He asked.

"Well..." and Touko told him everything that had happened ever since she left Castelia City. Burgh, on the other line, was listening to her closely and Touko felt gratitude towards him for listening.

"_You shouldn't worry so much, should you?_" Burgh simply said after.

"Um... I..." Touko didn't know what to say. Was it really just her worrying over it too much? She looked at Rior who was staring at her.

"_How's that little Armanitan of yours?_" Burgh suddenly asked. Touko looked towards the sleeping Arman.

"He's alright. Getting stronger." Touko replied.

"_That's good. He's a gentle Pokemon. Listen to me Touko, do not fret over everything that's happening. It will all flow well, you'll see in time. For now, I believe you should get some good sleep and head towards Driftveil tomorrow. Clay's a pretty good man, so you'll enjoy his company._" Burgh adviced her. Touko sighed.

"Thanks Burgh. I feel... like... you know." Touko tried to explain and she heard a voice laugh on the other line.

"_I get it._" He said. She heard someone calling Burgh's name. Touko knew that voice. "_Hold on Touko, Lenora's here_." Burgh explained. Touko nodded to herself.

"I should better hang up then, and go to sleep. Burgh... thanks again." Touko said, before hanging up. She sighed. Touko changed before going to bed, staring at the window at the city where people laughed and enjoyed themselves. Was that really the case for everyone, she wondered.

"Maybe it's just me..." she whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

_SPLASH! _Touko jumped out of bed as a surge of water hit her. She looked around in panic to see was was happening. Imi was in front of her and so were Touko's other Pokemon. She looked at them strangely before checking her Xtransceiver for the time. Touko's eyes widened. She jumped out of bed, saw the package that came for her at the door and went to change.

Touko was ready in no time and she headed out. It was already 10 o' clock. Rior and Imi walked beside her as she sent a package back to her mother with her old clothes. She started to head towards the city's exit.

The exit was like the other ones she had seen in the major cities. As she got to Route 5, she found herself surrounded by performers and festivities. As she continued to walk towards the road, she heard a voice behind her.

"Touko, stop!" Touko turned around, and her eyes shone as she saw the familiar face of Cheren. She ran to him and hugged him, taking the boy by surprise. "Um... Touko..."

"So glad to see you!" Touko said. Cheren hid a blush.

"A-anyway! You've got a Bolt Badge... I've got a Bolt Badge... Let's test who's stronger-you or me!" Cheren told her as she let go. Touko sighed.

"I haven't seen you in a while and you go and challenge me?" She asked.

"Whatever Touko, battle now, talk later! And you know," he smirked. "This time, I'm going to win!" Cheren called out Pard and Touko called out Saw. "Pard, use Fake Out!" Cheren commanded. The sly Pokemon grinned before attacking Saw. Saw didn't budge.

"Saw, Double Kick!" Cheren's eyes widened. Pard fainted immediately after the second kick. Cheren proceeded to send out his evolved Keen. Cheren's Tranquill was a beautiful bird.

"Handsome." Touko told Cheren. Cheren smiled and nodded. "Saw use Strength!" Touko ordered.

"Keen, use Air Cutter!" Cheren commanded. Cheren's Tranquill was much faster than Saw, and flew straight towards Touko's Sawk. Saw almost tripped but instead grabbed Keen and began to hit him until he flew back. "I see. I'm surprised you chose that move." Cheren said.

"Well, got to do what I got to do, you know?" Touko said back. "Again." Touko ordered Saw. Saw nodded. Keen attacked Saw with another Air Cutter, but Saw counter-attacked once again with Strength and the Flying-type Pokemon fainted.

"A joke... has got to be a joke..." Cheren said to himself. Touko decided to use a Hyper Potion on Saw and as he restored his health, Cheren's Lutto attacked Saw with Seed Bomb. Saw fell. Touko laughed at Cheren's Lutto.

Her Panpour, Imi, acted much like how Bianca acted, foolish around friends, and determined in battle. Cheren's Pansage acted a lot like Touko, silent but constantly grinning and in for the win. Bianca's Pansear on the other hand, was serious around strangers and even more in battle. However, around friends, Pyro was rather happy and excited. Just like Cheren.

"Saw, Double Kick!" Saw slowly went towards Lutto but Lutto got to him first with another Seed Bomb. Saw continued and managed to kick Lutto.

"Again!" Both Touko and Cheren ordered. Lutto got to Saw first again and attacked with yet another Seed Bomb, and although Saw was on the verge of fainting, he kicked Lutto once and the Pansage fainted. Cheren gritted his teeth before calling back his fainted Pokemon. He sent out Blaze. Touko restored Saw's health again.

"Blaze, use Smog." Cheren commanded. Pignite ran quickly towards Saw and used Smog and Saw began to cough.

"Fighting-type against Fighting-type, huh?" Touko said to herself. "Saw... hey Saw." Saw turned towards his trainer. "Keep using Double Kick throughout the whole round, alright?" She whispered. Saw nodded.

"Rollout!" Cheren commanded. He was staring at Touko speaking to her Pokemon and wondered what she had told him. Blaze found a boulder and broke it, sending one of the pieces straight at Saw.

That was how Saw and Blaze's Double Kick and Rollout battle began. Soon, both Pokemon were panting. Touko looked towards Cheren and saw him clearly frustrated.

"Something wrong Cheren?" She taunted. Cheren glared at her, which took Touko by surprise.

"Mind you... It's not over yet!" He said. Touko sighed. Cheren was just the type to take battles seriously. Saw attacked Blaze one last time with a Double Kick and Blaze fainted. Cheren sighed to himself as he recalled Blaze and approached Touko.

"Well! You are strong, as usual!" He shouted. He laughed nervously as he shuffled his hair. "Why? Why can't I beat you?" He asked himself. Touko smiled at him sympathetically.

"Who knows, maybe you're not going all out at me!" She said. "For all I know, you might love me too much to let me lose." She said jokingly. Touko didn't see Cheren's face going red as she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Oh, you two are friends..." Both Touko and Cheren turned towards Elesa. Elesa looked at Cheren and noticed the shade of his face and grinned sneakily. "That's nice, how you're helping each other get better by competing." She said.

"You saw?" Touko asked. Elesa nodded. She turned towards the road and began walking away.

"OK, let's go." She said as she turned her head. Touko and Cheren looked at each other before following behind the easy going Gym Leader. As they walked through the crowd, they saw many people on the street having fun.

"Oh! Why, if it isn't Elesa!" Elesa, Touko and Cheren all turned towards the voice. Elesa smiled. There was a man standing beside them, appearing to be having a lot of fun around the children. "Aren't festivals grand? Life should be enjoyed!" The man said excitedly. Cheren rolled his eyes.

"Who is this man?" He asked Elesa. Elesa grinned at the boy.

"Oh? You really don't know? This is Alder, the Unova region's Champion." She answered. Cheren's eyes widened as he looked to and from Elesa and Alder.

"Champion?! Why would the Champion be goofing off in a place like this?" Cheren questioned. Alder approached Cheren with a frowning face.

"I heard that remark." He said. "You're quite a judgmental young person, are you not? My name is Alder. I'm the Unova Pokemon League's Champion." Alder introduced himself.

"Um. I'm Cheren and this is Touko." Cheren introduced himself and Touko. Alder nodded as he gave Touko an enthousiastic smile.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." He told Cheren. "For your information, I'm not goofing off. I'm on a voyage. I know every corner of Unova." He explained.

"We're from Nuvema Town. My goal as a Trainer is to become the Champion." Cheren said confidently. Elesa and Touko watched Cheren and Alder conversing.

"Hm. Traveling with a goal in mind is a commendable thing. And what do you plan to do after becoming the Champion?" Alder asked the young boy. This seemed to be a very obvious question to Cheren.

"What else is there other than striving to become stronger? The strongest Trainer- that's the Champion." Cheren answered. Elesa and Touko looked at each other, deeply listening to the Champion and the boy in their serious conversation.

"Hmm. Becoming stronger... Becoming stronger, you say... Is that alone enough of a goal? Hmmm. It's not that I'm trying to say your way of thinking is wrong..." He turned to look towards the people. "In my travels, I've helped many people learn to love Pokemon. I think that's important, too." His eyes caught sight of two children playing. "If you play with those children, you might gain more of an understanding. Will you two have a Pokemon battle with those two?" Alder asked.

Cheren and Touko looked at each other. Touko shrugged as Cheren turned towards Alder and nodded.

"Hey, you two. Come here for a moment." The two kids ran towards Alder. Alder explained and they turned towards Touko and Cheren. Cheren put a finger on his temple and sighed.

"... Understood. But, before that..." Elesa helped heal both Touko's and Cheren's Pokemon. "OK, let's battle." Cheren said to the two kids who cried out in excitement.

"Wait Cheren. Hey, I'm Touko and this excited one is Cheren." Touko said as she leaned down towards the two kids. The girl giggled.

"I'm Sawah and this is Billy!" She said happily. Touko shook her hand and stepped back.

"So, ready?" She asked the two kids. The two kids nodded. They called out two Herdiers and Cheren and Touko called out Pard and Saw.

"Not too harsh, alright Cheren?" Touko whispered to Cheren. Cheren grinned.

"Please, I know how to restrain myself." Cheren said.

"Saw, Karate Chop."

"Pard, use Fake Out."

The two Pokemon managed to get through the attacks and attacked back with Take Downs. Saw budged.

"Again Saw." Saw hit the other Herdier while the other used Helping Hand.

"Pursuit." Cheren ordered. Herdier flinched.

"Take Down!" Sarah ordered. Saw almost fainted. Touko's eyes widened in surprise and she grinned.

"You guys are pretty strong. You'll be great trainers. Saw, Double Kick!" Touko ordered. Cheren looked towards Touko and he smiled. He ordered Pard to use Pursuit. The two Herdiers ganged up on Pard and before Saw could act, Pard had fainted. The last Herdier standing hit Saw and even Saw fainted.

"Touko..." Cheren began to say as Touko called out Rior and Cheren called out Lutto.

"Hush Cheren. This is good for both them and us." Touko told him. Cheren rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Rior, use Slam!" Touko ordered. Sarah's Herdier immediately fainted. The two kids recalled their Pokemon and approached Touko and Cheren. Elesa and Alder, who were watching from the side, also approached them.

"My Pokemon was so cute!" Sarah said. Touko laughed.

"My Pokemon listened to what I said and fought fow me!" Billy said. Cheren smiled.

"Nicely done! You didn't win, but that was a good battle. Your Pokemon looked like they were having fun." Alder told the kids. The kids thanked Alder before running off. Alder turned towards Cheren and Touko again.

"Young man, if there are people like you who pursue strength, there are also people who are happy just being with Pokemon. There are many different people and many different answers. When it comes to what a Champion should be, you and I may hold differing views, but so be it! Give it some thought." He told Cheren. Cheren nodded.

"Let's roll. The Driftveil Drawbridge is just ahead." Elesa said before walking towards the road again. Touko slowly followed but stopped as she saw Cheren was not following her.

"It was an honour meeting you mister Alder." Cheren told him, and Alder laughed as he joined the festival again. Cheren turned to Touko. "The Champion is the strongest of the strong! That's all there is to it." Cheren told her.

"Um..." Touko began. Cheren shook his head and laughed.

"Let's go Touko." He said. Touko gave him a smile before following him. "This way." Cheren pointed towards the waiting Elesa. Elesa turned from Touko to the bridge.

"Now to contact him..." she said to herself. She walked closer to the stand where a man secured the bridge. The man nodded to her and she got out her phone. "It's me, Elesa. Please lower the drawbridge." She said on the phone. She waited before sighing.

"I have a couple of Trainers here who want to challenge you." Elesa explained. She waited again. "OK... Thanks." She closed her phone and turned towards Cheren and Touko once again. "Now, watch this!" And she pointed towards the bridge.

The two parts which were previously up now were put down. The large red bridge formed one and both Cheren and Touko could now see the way across the river. Touko smiled.

"I have a TV gig, so I've got to go." Elesa said. "The Gym Leader of the next town may take some getting used to..." she hinted. "Do your best, both of you." Cheren and Touko thanked the Gym Leader as she made her way back to Nimbasa. Cheren turned towards Touko.

"What I am is a Trainer. I prove I'm right by getting stronger and winning in battle- even against the Champion." Cheren said. "Shall we?" He asked as he showed her the way to the bridge. Touko laughed.

"I'm biking my way through this." Touko said. Cheren shrugged.

"Whatever you say." Both of them got their bikes to their sides and began to ride it. The bridge was not as long as Skyarrow Bridge, however the man at the gate said it would probably take them about thirty or forty five minutes to cross it, depending on how fast they went. "Alright Touko, let's not go too slow." Cheren said. Touko winked at him before they began to ride.

As they rode, several other people began to cross the bridge as well. Soon, both of them found a few trainers from the other side of the bridge crossing. Touko found it amusing how there were many Pokemon flying around.

"So Touko, how's your journey going?" Cheren asked her. Touko took a deep breath.

"It's... good." she simply replied. Cheren took a quick look at his best friend, worrying whether she was hiding something. Touko smiled at him. "It really is going well." She said.

"You, haven't... bumped into N or Team Plasma again, have you?" Cheren suddenly asked. Touko stopped pedalling. Cheren had hit bull's eye. "Touko?" Touko sighed.

"Um, Team Plasma was at Nimbasa the other day..." Cheren's eyes widened but Touko waved her hands. "No! No, it's fine. They left immediately. I don't... even know why they were here." She said. They continued their way.

"And N?" He asked again. Touko shrugged.

"Haven't seen him." She easily said. It was difficult for someone like Touko to lie to a person important to her, but she didn't want Cheren to worry about her.

As they reached the end of the bridge, the man at the edge explained that the way to the city was just ahead. Touko and Cheren thanked the man before continuing to the small bridge that connected the road to the city. They got off their bikes and began to walk.

"Hrmph! So yer the Trainers Elesa was talkin' about, huh."

Cheren and Touko looked ahead and found a man standing in front of them. He didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"And you are?" Cheren questioned suspiciously. The man laughed.

"I'm Clay. I'm the Gym Leader 'round these parts." He introduced himself. Touko was certain Cheren was surprised, and as she took a sneak peek at his face, she knew she was right. "Don't be expectin' no welcome, now." Clay told them.

"And why is that?" Cheren asked. Clay gave a loud sigh.

"'Cause when we lowered that bridge, the Team Plasma guys we'd caught done escaped in all the ruckus!" Clay said.

Touko and Cheren looked at each other before looking back at the angry Gym Leader. Touko rolled her eyes before putting a hand on her head. Trouble... again.

* * *

_**I've put quite some innuendos involving Cheren and Touko. I don't know if I meant to do that or not, but I'm keeping it in. If you've got any thoughts or suggestions on my writing or what should happen (stuff other than the gameplay), please feel free to tell me so. Heads up by the way, this chapter is probably the last one for a while. I had another one ready, but when I re-read it, it's kind of short. Literally. So I'll work on it, and if I can make it any better, I'll upload it, but if I can't, sorry but this story is on hiatus from now! 'Till next time!  
**_


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